Windows 7: recovery discs

i am repairing a friends laptop that had an hdd go bad. It had windows xp on it, so i got a copy of windows xp and i have been having trouble getting it back on. My question is, is it possible to maybe purchase a recovery disc off ebay or somewhere and then run that on the new hdd and fix it that way?

Check on the first boot screen or in the computer's Manual to find what the Fkey is to press at boot to run Factory Recovery to see if it works.

The XP installer needs to be the exact same version and an OEM copy if this was factory preinstalled, or retail copy if it was store bought.

If this is an OEM computer i.e. it came with XP preinstalled and has a holographic sticker on it with a key, you have 2 options- one, simply order the recovery disk from the OEM vendor, no need to buy from ebay. Two, get hold of an XP disk of the same edition and preferrably the same service pack, install and activate with the sticker key.

FYI, the recovery disk from ebay etc. will work only if its the right edition and SP. Much better to order it from the oem.

But if the computer is not OEM, none of the above applies.

At wont step can you get to in this tuterial:
Clean Install Windows XP - How To Perform a Clean Installation of Windows XP - Part 1 of 4

You may need to load Sata controller drivers at F6:
SATA Drivers - Load in Windows XP Setup on Dual Boot