John

Without a valid maintenance contract I am not sure that he will be able to download new bood software.

Is it possible that the problem is not corrupted boot software, but perhaps is that in the password recovery procedure there was a keystroke error and the config register was set to something other than 0x2142? This could have the effect of changing the speed of the console port. And it produces the symptom that the router will not respond to the console. I would suggest that he try setting his terminal emulator software (Hyperterm or whatever he is using) to the lowest speed of 1200, and work up through all of the speed possibilities and see if one works. Note that with Hyperterm you sometimes need to stop and start the connection to get the software to recognize the new setting for speed.

[edit] if he power cycles the router does he get output on the console? Knowing this might help clarify whether it is a speed issue. If there is no console output it is more likely to be a speed issue. If there is console output during the boot but the router does not respond to the console then it is likely to be something other than speed.

HTH

Rick