Quick format isn't quite like just deleting through the recycle bin, since it completely wipes the master file table so there's no record of the files ever having existed. Of course like any deletion, the magnetic sequences that made up the files are still physically on the disk so it could be scanned and they could be recovered if they aren't overwritten, but as far as the file system is concerned they don't and never did exist once you do a format.
When you're doing the install, you'll want to first delete the existing partition(s), then create new ones and do either a quick format or a regular format. Quick format sets up the file table and some other things, a full format scans the entire drive which can help to verify that there aren't any bad sectors, but will take awhile with a laptop drive.
Drivers for many components on the laptop will be included with XP, but depending on how new it is there may be drivers you still need to download. Given the age of the Presario 1200, it's likely that Windows XP will have almost all the basic drivers needed. You should still go to the Compaq/HP website though and see what downloads they have available. I'm not bothering to look up detailed specs on it, so you may still need to get things like the Ethernet driver as they often were not integrated into the chipset on machines that old, and may not have been one that is in Windows already.
