Can't recover R61i

Question

My original purchase of the R61i, model 8932CTO, came with Windows XP because I requested that instead of Vista. Since then, I have installed the Windows 7 upgrade. I now get a message that says "windows failed to start. Insert your windows installation disc and restart your computer." 
When I press the ThinkVantage button during start up, I get only these options on the Startup Interrupt Menu:
ESC to resume normal startup
F1 to enter BIOS Setup Utiity
F12 to choose a temporary startup device
I now want to do a factory restore but cannot because of the following:
I do not have rescue and recovery disks
There is no rescue and recovery option when I press the ThinkVantage button (only the three options of ESC, F1 and F12 are shown)
I called Lenovo support and was told that they could not provide me with the rescue and recovery disks because they no longer support XP or Vista, and Windows 7 is not supported on my PC -- so there is no part number available and I can't order it
Here is what I DO have:
System repair disk for Windows 7. I have tried to boot from it but no success
System image on external hard drive. I have not been able to boot from the external hard drive
Restore points on external hard drive
Windows 7 upgrade disk
At this point, I think I have effectively messed up my PC enough that only a factory reset will help. I am not much of a computer person so I need very explicit instructions as to what to do. 
My intention is to use this computer very sparingly. I have already removed all of my documents, etc. so no worries about losing any data. What I want to do is get back to the original (factory) setup, re-install my Windows 7 upgrade, install the one or two programs that I would like to use under Windowes 7, and call it a day. I do not expect or require Lenovo support for Windows 7, but they can't provide the disks anyway.
I will be grateful for any suggestions. Please note the request for explicit instructions. :-)

Answer 1

Thanks to everyone for their help. For any others who might have had this probIem and are as helpless as me: I finally, finally was able to boot from the system repair disk by repeatedly pressing F8 during the startup process. I had been trying to use the Thinkvantage button which didn't work at all. It also appears you have to press F8 at just the right time and with just the right touch. Once I was able to interrupt the startup process, I had the option to boot from the CD/DVD drive with the system repair disk, and from there was able to get to my system image which was on a USB. Now I am back to where I was at the time of the system image (last October). This is not really a problem for me since I have everything backed up externally.
So now I figured I could insert my Windows 7 upgrade disk and do a clean install per the Colonel's fine instructions. However, it turns out there is something wrong with the disk--it makes a terrible sound and can't boot. I chatted with Microsoft over the week-end and they tried to help with instructions to download Windows 7, but the download process wouldn't recognize the product key even though Microsoft support verified that it was valid and I was looking at it on its original box. I typed it more than half a dozen times, and am confident I typed it correctly.
So today I will call Microsoft and have them send me a new Upgrade disk. Another few days and I should be able to do the clean install unless I manage to run into another unusual issue. Thanks for the help!