Verified answer

Software wise you can go into Programs/Accessories/System Tools and run disk clean up. Select all the boxes in the window. After that, run disk defrag. You can then go onto Control Panel/Adminstrative Tools/System Configuration/Startup and de-select all the junk that gets loaded when the system starts. A good indicator of things that can be taken out is the icons on the left of the task bar. You only need Antivuirus, Safely remove, power and network. If you are running Norton or McAfee, get rid of them and use a lighter program light Kaspersky, Advent, or AVG, All are free and work well. Hardware side you can increase the memory. Vista home premium really runs best on 2G or more.

More Ram is the first place to begin ... then disabling programs from startup that you seldom use

Take some items off of startup (anything you don't need)

Hope This Helps!