XP or Vista? That is the question!

Was the laptop running fine with Vista when you got it? if so I would not be looking to downgrade back to XP but would be looking for the cause of Vista getting slower.

Clean out all the temp files, remove any programs you don't use (especially all the crap manufacturers dump onto new PC/Laptops) check for virus / spyware etc. It sounds to me like it was not always slow, so I would be finding the cause and fixing that.
 
I had vista wiped off my pc and xp black installed,this thing has a turbo charged hemi now.....oh...xp black is just xp with some extra programs to make it go faster,way faster........
 
AquariaCentral.com