Migration Assistant does not find Time machine for allowing Restore after HDD Data Recovery.

[Macroe]

Hello,
I have had a catastrophic HDD failure and have programs that seem to only work on 32bit systems,,,ie: Snow Leopard.
I have puchased a replacement macbook with Snow Leopard installed without issue.
When trying to restore from the SSD with all of the recovered data on it, Time Machine will not find the SSD.
I have also tried using Migration Assistant and we have the same problem. I have tried Apple Store Genius Bar and freelance apple repairers to assist but have not been able to find a solution.
Is there a workaround for this problem at all? Any assistance will be very gratefully received.

 

[chabig]

Thinking out loud...

Maybe the new machine has a bad USB port. Try another port.
Try a different cable.
Make sure the SSD is receiving power.
Was the SSD format compatible with Snow Leopard?
Is the SSD readable on other computers?