thanks for all the replies...i shoulda been more specific, the power is completely turned off..this is for a new room i'm setting up..i screwed a bulb in the ballast and when i tried unscrewing it, the bulb started turning while the base was screwed into the socket...the light still turns on...so what i need to do is first seperate the bulb from the base and then get the metal part out, is that right? my next question, is there any possibility of the bulb shattering or blowing up? "high pressure" tends to worry me :smiley_joint: do i just unscrew the bulb until the glass seperates from the base?? thanks again for the help! peace. j