Opening and running programs faster

I am running Windows 98 and just had my system redone at the shop. I had the memory and everything upgraded to the max that the system would allow. It is an older system and my question is this. With everything supposing to be in the best working order, why does it take so long for my programs to open and run? I'm new at this tweaking business, so any help would be appreciated. Thank you

System specs would be helpful in determining this.