I recommend that users of Windows 2000 upgrade to XP Professional if their applications and hardware are compatible (in nearly every case they are). XP has a feature called system restore, that lets you undo changes to your system that can be most helpful. Like a time machine of sorts. It has solved many problems that Windows 2000 wouldn't have. It is like the program GOBACK. I find XP is also smoother, has firewall software built in, and it more up to date with drivers, etc. I rate XP Pro Microsoft's best operating system ever....not saying it is perfect, just the best they have come up with yet. The only place where I don't recommend going to XP Pro from Windows 2000 Pro is in certain network environments where some workstations are running Windows 98. The networking in XP Pro is advanced, and sometimes there are issues with Windows 98.
Playing nice? I don't know. Didn't the USA go in and give medical assistance to the Iraqi people after bombing the shit out of them? I suppose that is the "civilization" is us, we bomb, then we heal.
After you review the task manager, you'll probably be able to figure out what program many of the tasks relate to. But many will not be intuitive. You might want to take a look at http://www.answersthatwork.com/ and get to the Task List section (click on Libraries of Answers That Work at the bottom of the page and then choose The TASK List from the right-side navigation buttons). They do a good job of identifying even the most obscure tasks. Good luck!