what does time machine backup?
Just wondering what time machine actually backs up? Does it do my entire system (so when I restore from a backup it gets everything from the backup) or just my files (and gets the rest of the OS and system files from an installer somewhere? In other words, if I want to perform a clean install of OS X, if I then restored from a Time Machine backup, would I have a nice new OS with my personal files on it, or would I have an exact clone of what I had before (including old preference and system files)??
Also, say if I installed Mountain Lion onto a blank drive, can I restore my files from a Time Machine backup of Lion during the setup process?
MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.4)