Time Machine, you will still need to put a working copy of OS X onto the new hard drive before you can access it.
The logical way to do this would be to install OS X from the 10.7 installation file, you do still have that file?, and then restore from Time Machine.
Not sure that Time Machine will take your machine from 10.6 to 10.8 but, because this is a fresh install, it is certainly worth a try.
P
My hard drive crashed on my MBP and I am installing a new hard drive tonight. I was running OSX 10.7.4 before the crash. I have the install disks from when I purchased my computer but the disks are OSX 10.6.
I currently have a backup of my computer on my Time Capsule.
My question is, if I load the 10.6 CD and boot my computer up, can I upgrade to version 10.8 (Mountain Lion) and still be able to access my backup on the Time Capsule that is version 10.7?
Also, any tips for installing the new hard drive and/or software?
Thanks in advance!

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