ubuntu 7.10 loading time is slow

hmm..
i too have the same config...
i just disabled many services such as bluetooth and removed many tray items ..when u close any tray item it will ask whether u want to disable it from auto start or not ..select yes..there will be many tray items like clipper,power management,,remove them all..
after doing all these login will speed up..
there is still other--> in session manager choose start with a new empty session..
and regarding swap it think it is less coz in my computer whenever i open the system monitor i shows me usage of more than 250 MB of swap(full compiz and desktop effects on)..i have allocated 500 MB of swap..

GNOME is getting more bloated by each release since 2.16 though it's marginally below KDE yet. And your 256MB RAM is where problem lies. Disable unnecessary services and if possible install xfce-desktop, it's just 50MB extra and lightweight.

1) remove any graphical boot screen in GRUB( if any)
2) enable auto login
3) disable the services you don't need
4) remove programs from startup & and start them manually
5) try increasing swap
6) disable Desktop effects(copiz-fusion)
7) Do not open more than 1 or 2 programs at same time
8) if all things does not work, its time for a increasing RAM
if a upgrade is not possible then use a light wieght system like XFCE,E17,Fluxbox & maybe ratpoison

@adi007 :thanks dude ur methods helped me a lot

@gary4gar :thanks man for the inputs Can u tell me how can I increase my Swap partion

^dude,with 256MB RAM,make sure u disabled 3D effects,although it may work.For me,I was running with 256 MB RAM(now upgraded to 384MB) but with a 256MB dedicated gfx card.

use tools like Gparted