How do I reinstall lion using time machine (Macbook Pro mid-2009)?

Question

I am going to replace my hard drive (and add RAM) on my Macbook Pro (mid-2009) myself. I have Lion (10.7.4) currently, and have backed up via time machine on an external drive. I don't have Lion on a usb, and from what I read, Lion Recovery via internet isn't applicable for my macbook (pre 2010). Is the time machine backup a bootable drive? If so, then am I all good so long as my backup is completed prior to replacing the hard drive? If not, how do I create a bootable drive so I can get back to "normal"?
Thanks! :-)

Answer 1

To determine if your Time Machine backup has a Recovery HD on it restart the computer. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears. A Recovery HD option should appear on your Time Machine backup drive. Select it and click on the arrow button below the icon. If all is well your machine should boot into the Recovery HD utilities screen.
If all is well then after you replace your drive boot from the Time Machine Recovery HD. Start by:
Drive Preparation for Lion
1.  Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is an entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area.  If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing.  SMART info will not be reported  on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
After finishing formatting quit DU and return to the main menu. Select the option to Restore from a Time Machine backup then click on the Continue button.