If you prefer not to wait a couple of days to get a set of restore disks, you can load Windows from a disk that matches your original operating system using your product ID, which is on s sticker on the computer.

Honestly I have no idea what your friend was doing when he made you a "recovery" disk, and in spite of good intentions, he may not know what he was doing either. The genuine recovery disks are inexpensive, and ship quickly. But the "same version" clean installation will work also. You just miss out on all the wonderful software bundled with the machine.