Venster will give you small efficient Python access to the Win32 libraries. Oh, and you’ll need this tutorial; venster is still about as easy to use as Win32, unfortunately.
Py2Exe then allows you to easily wrap these up into a binary distributable file for Windows.
Now choose the Windows deployment technology of your choice. (With a binary EXE, you actually have several good options.)
Web Worker Daily has a nice article about how to speed up your old Windows computer.
It amuses me greatly that the comments on the article all recommend installing Ubuntu instead of Windows.
Enjoy!
Do you live off of a thumb-drive? Then you may find these useful:
Portable USB Start menu: Portable Start Menu
Excellent portable organizer: MonkeyGTD Organizer (You will have to enable scripts to view and download this one; but it is worth it.)