I'm thinking about swapping out my current mobo (celeron) for a different one that uses a pentium 4 cpu. Will I have any issues with my PC recognizing the new hardware? What suggestions do you have?

Will I have any issues with my pc recognizing the new hardware?

Possibly.


What suggestions do you have?

Don't do it. Rebuild XP on the new board by doing a clean install.

Don't do what? If I reinstall xp on the new board, will I have activation issues?

Don't drop a new board in and use the same hard disk without reinstalling XP on it.

You will have to reactivate if you do a fresh install. It's not that big a deal if your XP copy is legit. Depending on how many times your XP copy has been activated (3 or more?), the online activation tool may tell you to call Microsoft. Upon calling you will be asked a series of questions and given an activation code if the answers you provide are acceptable. You will also need the product key from the certificate of authenticity sticker (usually stuck on the computer case) during XP installation.

Also, if you have XP "recovery" media that came with the computer instead of a plain vanilla OEM or retail XP disc, these are often pre-activated and no further activation is required.