Any hard drive will work fine as a replacement, providing it is the correct type (SATA/IDE). Try and get one that isn't too large as the main boards often support up to a particular size. If the drive is larger than the compatible size you will either not be able to detect the drive at all, or you wont be able to use all of the drive's capacity.

It is also unlikely that if the keyboard does not work within the bios, that it will work within an OS. This is because the hardware is detected by the BIOS and then handed over to the OS - if the keyboard doesn't work on a hardware level, it wont work on a software level. (Note: this is not always the case however).

If it were me, I would pull the laptop apart and check the cables for the keyboard and such are still connected etc if they are; I would install an OS and see if this will work. Failing that, flashing the bios is the next item of agenda but it does seem that the laptop is no longer of serviceable value.