Ahhhhh help!!!!

I have a DELL laptop whose cd rom went out a year ago. Since I use my computer for primarily internet, I never replaced it. Somehow I have got a virus that causes me to be able to do nothing to the computer.

My husband got the same virus about a year ago and we had to wipe down his computer and reinstall his operating system. This worked.

I know I will need to replace the cd rom in order to reinstall the OS but, will I be able to do that without being able to use the computer at all. And if I can... what do I need to do?