Transferring files from old 2008 MBP to 2011MBP. Now my new machine won't boot

[chyemonroe]

So I'm new to Mac but know electronics and computers pretty well.
I did a firewire transfer between machines using Migration Assistant. (I had been using the 2011 machine lightly and then decided to make it my main machine)
Transfer completed and the 2011 machine worked.
I noticed a bunch of information from the prior owner stayed in the partition so I removed the SSD from the 2011 machine and formatted it in my pc (I had done this with no issue on my 2008 machine)
I then tried to install Lion OS onto the 2011 through the USB port with a purchased full install stick purchased from Mac. Te 2011 machine will let me et to the boot screen where I choose which disc to boot from but after that it just sits on the white screen and does nothing.
I have tried a number of troubleshooting steps including EVERYTHING from Mac troubleshooting EXCEPT booting from original boot DVDs since neither I nor anyone I know own those discs for an early 2011 model MBP.
I don't want to send this into Mac for repair. Am I on the right track thinking I need to hunt down the install discs for this model?
It's pretty much the only thing I have not done.

Thank you very much for any input on this situation. It sucks having this clocked out machine be a paper weight

Peter Brown

 

[scathe]

Can someone please confirm if the Lion USB stick is meant as a full install, or is it just an upgrade? From what i know, OSX Lion is mainly meant to be installed from the App Store, not sure how it is with a fresh install.

But I'm sure people on this forum can confirm this: if you need to install Snow Leopard from installation disks, or if the USB drive can be used directly and you actually have a valid issue with your installation progress.