This is a problem that I have struggled with a bit at my job at MIS. Somehow or other, we need to fix a Mac and that Mac doesn't have a usable CD/DVD drive. Additionally, the external CD/DVD drives we have available are in use elsewhere or otherwise unreliable. The solution? Clone Snow Leopard to a USB stick (somehow) to run Disk Utility, or whatever else you need. I write this now, and place it online, for my own benefit as much as anybody else's. However, I do hope this is what you are looking for.