Reinstall windows from external drive-possible?

[scholargypsy]

Hi all, my problem is this- I have a VPCF11M1E laptop. The Nvidia drivers are corrupted so I can only get Black Screen of Death. No boot up to safe mode possible. I have taken out the HD and can read it as an external HD through usb. Is it possible for me to put in a new HD, and using Bios to boot up from external device then access recovery partion to reinstall windows onto new HD?

Failing that, can I buy a new copy of windows 7 and using an external usb dvd player install a fresh copy and install nvidia drivers later? I will need to boot from external player as internal dvd player doesnt work. Will the bios recognise external device without having an operating system?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[petasis]

I have bought a usb dvd drive, and has worked in all laptops I have tried so far. I have a VPCF13Z1E, and I replaced the hdd with an SSD, but I used the internal cd-rom for reinstalling windows.

[scholargypsy]

Thanks for your prompt reply. I hadnt thought of a SSD, might be worth thinking about as I use the computer for video editing. I'll give the ext dvd drive a go. Thx again.