Is formatting a laptop possible if bios is password protected?
This depends on the kind of BIOS protection, and the other BIOS
settings. The BIOS is not actually on the harddrive, so this is
potentially possible.
If the BIOS is only protected from changes to it's settings,
then you can try booting to removable media (CD, DVD, Flashdrive,
etc.) which has the option to format a drive, and format it from
there. OS install disks usually have this option, as well as boot
disks like UBCD and Bart PE.
If the BIOS is protecting the system from booting up, then you
will probably need to remove the harddrive and plug it into another
computer to complete this task. There should be no password prompt
once it is in the other computer.
IF the BIOS protection is locking the actual harddrive, then you
will probably need to clear the password first. If you do not know
the password, then you will need to try to break in (assuming is is
actually your computer). This can be difficult, but there are
programs which can make it easier. One such program is on the
UBCD.