Formatting a harddisk without original Windows XP disk

[akfak]

I have just acquired an old laptop that has a lot of old crap on it that I can't get rid of. It really needs a good fresh start to get going.

From the research I've done it seems that the best way to do it is to format the hard drive. I don't have the original Windows XP CD, though...or any other driver CDs for that matter. I do have, however, all the software CDs for my new desktop computer I purchased.

Do you think it's possible to use the Windows XP CD I have for my new computer? Any other suggestions for what I can do?

Thanks.