getting win2000 to run better

[grasshopperbe]

i only recently switched to win2000pro, and i am wondering what thingies can be done to get it optimized. for instance when you go to task manager, there are a lot of processes running that i think can be shut down.
can anyone link me to some info on this subject?
Also , is it possible to make the background of icon text on desktop see-trough, so that
a background image with many colors looks better? (i though this was possible from win2000) . i tried this in 98se but it gave a whole lot of troubles.

[Steve1]

BlkViper will help you get going.

TechNet has some good info.

Don't know about your desktop question.

[grasshopperbe]

Thanks for the links Steve1. Guess its time for me to do some reading now :-)