Ditch Vista and install Linux.

I more or less did that. I got fed up of MS Nanny software in WinXP, long bootup times and lengthy pauses while the computer chattered to itself whenever I wanted to do something that I downloaded and Installed Ubuntu Linux. I actually have a dual boot system as I cannot ditch Windoze completely as there is some software I have to run that will not run in Linux, but I have no regrets and Linux is certainly quicker and more stable and needs fewer resources to run effectively.