Step 1 was to install additional memory into my PC.
I now have 3G of RAM.
Why do I need this much, you may ask?
Because darlings, I'm going to be making a relatively major software purchase in the hopefully near future (though that just got bumped back because of taxes), of Combustion 4. As it turns out, the program uses every bit of RAM it can get it's little electronic hands on to keep data cached. They recommend a minimum of 2G, and since I already had a gig in place, I added two more 1G sticks of PC400 DDR, which is the max my mobo can take.
Oddly, now it boots faster.
Of course, I also have a new game that I can play with to test out that new memory and see if it runs faster. Because it's for work, you know.