help! 

after reading about linux mint, i decided to install it in my laptop which was running XP.

i completely wiped its harddrive, after which the laptop couldn't even find its cdrom and usb ports.  thus, i cannot install or re-install anything.  the bios also doesn't report these ports too.

i have had scouted the www but couldn't find a workable solution.

i would appreciate it if you could give me some pointers to solve my problem.

thank you.