Model number, I don't know.
Get the model number first, so that we can look up the recovery instructions. Otherwise, we are just playing a guessing game.

If it is not possible to use the built-in restoration partition, is it possible to reformat the HDD and do a clean install of W7 or 8.
She would have had to make the recovery DVD or Flash drive ahead of time. If it's a netbook, then there's a good chance it came with Win7 Starter edition.

What do you mean "diverse" hardware?