Did your son burn a Recovery Disk set? If so boot from it. If he didn't burn a set you should be able to get a set from HP for around $17. HP normally only carries Recovery Discs for a few years so if this machine shipped with Vista they may not have them, but Computersurgeons.com probably does.Usually about $27 there.
What OS is on the laptop-Vista, Windows 7?
If you need more help please post the full model number and/or product number of the laptop.There should be a Service Tag attached to bottom with the info.
