HP laptop wireless issues

Hello,
So here is the deal. I purchased an HP Laptop from a pawnshop. It got a config error and I took took my Dell computer install disks and put in a new XP operating system (I thought easier then following all the comands for repair, or so it seemed). I dont know how to get my laptops wireless card to activate and look for my network. I am very ignorant about how this all works. Do I need to plug directly to my network or what should I do to get my laptop to start looking for the network. Since I did not get any disks, am I maybe missing a driver? Did I really hose this up? Any help would be appreciated.