Is it one of those with the snap open CD holder on the bottom of the front face?
If so, open that. At the top feel with your fingers and you'll find two holes. Use these to gently put upward pressure and then pull toward you, and the entire face plate will pop off. This drove me nuts on an old Presario 5000US I was fixing until I figured it out.
Pretty sure you have to "unlock" the faceplate first from inside the machine, then do as I've outlined.
Be gentle.
EDIT: Model info would be very helpful for a question like this, FYI.