a friend of mine has his sons pc with XP on it. It is password protected. We want to reformat. Sorry i don't have any more info. Is there a way to get to the command prompt?

If you don't have the username or password you can't get to the command prompt through XP, even on startup. However if you have the Boot CD for XP or 2000, put in this into the CD drive before startup and boot from the CD. You can boot from the CD by pressing "Del" on startup, then changing your startup options. I haven't done this with XP, so I'm not too sure how it works with that boot disc, but with 2000 it will boot up and ask you if want to reinstall from stratch or overwrite etc. If you want to install a new O/S and then reformat, you can do this. Otherwise, on the Win2000 CD there is an option called "recovery console" under "repair an installation". Select this and it will take you to the command prompt. I'm sure there's a similar option on the XP CD. P.S. If you have any other boot or recovery discs (CD's or floppy's) you can use these, plus its less hassle, but I mention the XP/2000 CD option as that's what most people have lying around and can get hold of. Hope this helps, singhy