Hard Drive problem

Ok so I messed up trying to install a new harddrive on my wife's macbook... I know this is one of those things that shouldn't be difficult but for some reason is...
So for some reason when I installed the OS on the new drive something went wrong and I want to start over and wipe the new drive clean... it wont let me wipe the OS and start over.

This is what I want to do once the drive is cleared off.

Install the clean new drive and reinstall the backup off an external drive using time machine... is this possible? If so is there a definitive tutorial online that doesn't give me mixed advice like the couple that i used before?

Thx

1) Begin by booting off of an OS X DVD or Disc 1 that came with your Macbook. You can do this by holding the C key right at the BONG when the Mac Starts up.

2) Once the disc is booted, select your language.

3) Now instead of going through with the Install, go to the Utilities menu in the menubar and select Disk Utility.

4) Select your hard drive on the sidebar, and select the Erase tab. You may want to select "Zero out drive" in the Options menu (there is a button at the bottom called "Options..." If you choze to Zero out the drive, this may take up to an hour depending on the capacity of your drive.

5) Now that your drive is clear, close Disk Utility and proceed with the Install again. A second failure during the install may indicate a problem with either the install disc (check for scratches) or a defective hard drive.

Good Luck.

So I am ready to restore from my external HD backup but when the finder window pops up to choose from I click on the backup and it continues to break the files down so that I can choose like apps or pictures... it wont let me do the entire thing... help

If you have a Time Machine backup, use Spotlight and locate the Migration Assistant.

The Migration Assistant will allow you to restore all your files... I mean EVERYTHING... from your Time Machine Backup.