Fresh install on laptop [no optical drive, boot from HDD only]

Trying to do a fresh install on a laptop whose HDD has failed. Problem is that the BIOS only allows booting to the HDD not to any external devices USB or otherwise.

It doesn't have an optical drive but does have an SD card reader (OK I'm clutching at straws here).....

Any ideas how to get the OS on??

Once upon a time it had a docking station but not any longer. We considered putting the replacement HDD in another PC and Ghosting a working XPPro to it and hope it would start but other than this I'm open to suggestions.

G

 

Sounds pretty desparate, but if you really want an obsolete lapptop, I think ghosting in a working box using DOS only should work.