How can I do a fresh install of OSX Mountain Lion onto my SSD for my Macbook?

My macbook is sluggish and has so much stuff that I don't use anymore and just want to start over from scratch basically. I did a time machine backup just in case something goes wrong.

  • New blank SSD
  • MacBook Pro (early 2011)
  • backed up everything that I wanted to keep on an external HDD so that I can put it back on the SSD once OSX is installed again.

I can't directly clone everything to the SSD since my HDD has over 300GB used and my SSD is only 120GB.

Is it possible/how can I get OSX installed on my SSD without a HDD Caddy. There is no install disc since my Macbook came with the OS preinstalled on my HDD?


Internet Recovery

If you installed the Internet Recovery firmware update, hold ⌘ cmd + ⌥ alt + R on boot to begin.

Internet Recovery Progress

An image of OS X will be downloaded from the internet, and can be installed on the internal SSD normally. Once this is complete, you can restore your data from your external drive.