[TYPO3-install] Create local installation of existing Typo3 site for development purposes

[Ali H]

Hi, 
I am attempting to create a localhost development environment for an existing Typo3 website, on my Mac. 
I've already read through & attempted to follow Dmitry Dulepov's guide, and also this guide a guide called "Transfer Typo3 Site To A New Host" on a website called webempoweredchurch, without success either time.  

I wonder if somebody can identify where I am going wrong in my process?

Here's the furthest I've gotten so far:
- A successful empty Typo3 installation, which shows the "123 Install" window
- Use the Install tool to create & connect to a new database
- use terminal to import sql dump of old site into the newly-created database
- At this point I can log in to the Typo3 back-end and see my site tree, and if I look at the Install/config tool everything shows correctly (can connect to DB, etc), but I can't see anything on the front-end. I get Typo3 front-end errors when I attempt to view the site.
- Then, I replace the /fileadmin, /typo3conf & /uploads directories in the local install with the copies from the old site. Chmod -R 777 those directories. Edit typo3conf/LocalConfiguration.php to add the new database details. 
- At this point, I can no longer access either the Typo3 back-end OR the front-end. I get timed-out requests when I attempt to access either.

I have tried a few slight variations on this process, and hit the same blocks each time. I would appreciate any guidance or links to other resources about how to do this, or how to identify what the problem is.