[syslinux] how do i format with syslinux?

[Steve Baker]

Greetings, Just wondering how I reformat with syslinux - my friend is
running syslinux and has some ridiculous GUI which is limited to reboot,
or launch firefox. I would like to make a fresh install of winxp or linux,
but my friend does not hold any of the passwords for his computer. Can
anyone help me with this?

I am a beginner to linux so please explain everything carefully. Thankyou!