my friend wants to recover his computer to the factory installed state or basically like new, how do you do it? my friend has a dell i dont know if this will make a difference but please help

It depends on what he has to restore with?

A full version CD?

A recovery CD?

Recovery floppie?

Here is a good resource for repairs:

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

he has nothing to restore it with

If he lost it the only thing I can think of is to find a friend with the exact same system recovery CD. Or perhaps he can purchase one from Dell.

If he never got one then he should contact Dell or the seller of the machine.

Just to quote a note:

"Legally, the OEM has met it's contractual obligation to Microsoft
by providing a means of returning the PC to its ex-factory state,
whether it's a Recovery CD or a Recovery Partition. They are not
legally obliged to provide a true installation CD as part of the sale.
Reputable, customer-service aware OEMs, like Dell and Gateway, do
provide a full OEM installation CD, that does permit custom
installations and repairs. Many uncaring OEMs, such as Compaq,
eMachines, and Sony, however, in an effort to save pennies and reduce
their support costs by having to hire support people that can only say
"Boot from the Recovery CD to return your PC to its original
condition," provide only a CD bearing a disk image of the hard drive
as it left the factory. These Recovery/Restore CDs cannot perform
normal installations, nor can they be used to do any sort of
customizations. Basically, it boils down to "You get what you pay
for."