Time machine not working on macbook pro 10.6.8

Question

My time machine is not working, I want to upgrade to Lion do I need time machine?

Answer 1

Not to upgrade, but you may want to use Time Machine for your regular backup.
How to Install Lion/Mountain Lion Successfully - You must have Snow Leopard 10.6.8 Installed
A. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions:
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. Then select Disk Utility from the Utilities. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally. 
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.3.) if DW cannot fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall Snow Leopard.
B. Make a Bootable Backup Using Restore Option of Disk Utility:
  1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
  2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
  3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
  4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
  5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to
      the Destination entry field.
  6. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to the
      Source entry field.
  7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the backup volume. Source means the internal startup volume.
C. Important: Please read before installing:
  1. If you have a FireWire hard drive connected, disconnect it before
      installing the update unless you will boot from this drive and install the
      update on it. Reconnect it and turn it back on after installation is
      complete and you've restarted.
  2. You may experience unexpected results if you have installed third-
      party system software modifications, or if you have modified the
      operating system through other means. (This does not apply to
      normal application software installation.)
  3. The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or
      other interruption occurs during installation, use the standalone
      installer (see below) from Apple Downloads to update.  While the
      installation is in progress do not use the computer.
D. To upgrade to Lion/Mountain Lion:
  1. Purchase the Lion/Mountain Lion Installer from the Mac App Store.
      The download should start quickly. Lion is nearly 4 GBs so a fast
      internet connection is essential. Download time could run upwards of 4
      hours depending upon network conditions and server demands at the
      time.
  2. The installer will run automatically after the download is completed.
      Click on the Install button to begin the upgrade.
  3. Follow instructions for installation.
You may also wish to consider this:
Make Your Own Mountain/Lion Installer
1. After downloading Mountain/Lion you must first save the Install Mac OS X Mountain/
    Lion application. After Mountain/Lion downloads DO NOT click on the Install button.
    Go to your Applications folder and make a copy of the Mountain/Lion installer. Move
    the copy into your Downloads folder. Now you can click on the Install button. You
    must do this because the installer deletes itself automatically when it finishes
    installing.
2. Get a USB flash drive that is at least 8 GBs. Prep this flash drive as follows:
  a. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
  b. After DU loads select your flash drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left
      side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
  c. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one.     
      Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the
      partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until
      the process has completed.
  d. 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.
  e. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the
      button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
  f. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to an hour depending upon the flash
     drive size.
3. Locate the saved Mountain/Lion installer in your Downloads folder. CTRL- or RIGHT-click on the installer and select Show Package Contents from the contextual menu. Double-click on the Contents folder to open it. Double-click on the SharedSupport folder. In this folder you will see a disc image named InstallESD.dmg.
4. Plug in your freshly prepared USB flash drive. You are going to clone the content of the InstallESD.dmg disc image to the flash drive as follows:
  a. Double-click on the InstallESD.dmg file to mount it on your Desktop.
  b. Open Disk Utility.
  c. Select the USB flash drive from the left side list.
  d. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
  e. Select the USB flash drive volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
  f. Drag the mounted disc icon from the Desktop into the Source entry field.
  g. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
When the clone is completed you have a fully bootable installer that you can use without having to re-download Mountain/Lion.
Note: The term Mountain/Lion used above means Lion or Mountain Lion.
As an alternative to the above (you still have to do your own download of Lion/Mountain Lion) you can try using Lion DiskMaker 2.0 that automates the process of Steps 2 through 4.