As you can see, it is not only possible, but there are quite a few ways to go about it. You could use the laptop’s built-in recovery partition, or you could use an install disc, or you could just roll it back to it’s infancy.
Personally, I would not consider the last option as a clean install (like the first two options) is always preferable. And since you have the install DVDs, then the second choice is the best of the three. Actually, the fact that you have those discs tells me that you probably do not have a recovery partition; it’s generally an either/or thing.
Of course, since your original operating system was Vista, I would strongly advise you to try another OS, such as XP or Windows 7… or Ubuntu. I won’t get into it here, but I am far from alone when it comes to a distaste for Vista. Regardless of which way you go though, you will need to back up all of your documents.
You should know that software makers have done what they can to make installing an operating system as simple as possible since they know that most computer users are not tech-savvy. For instance, to get Ubuntu up and running, I needed to know that I speak English and live in the Pacific time zone, and that was it; the installer did the rest! Windows may ask you for a 25-character serial number that should be on a sticker either on your laptop and/or on the install disc, but is otherwise about as simple.