Computer Configuration GPO Problem

[Andrew Schumer]

Out of the blue I started having problems and have been trying for the past
2 weeks to fix this. My computer is not attached to a domain, and
is running XP Professional and IE 6.

First got error messages from the Windows Update website,
saying I had software that didn't complete installing. Then I started
getting errors saying I needed to be an administrator (which I am)
and then messages saying ActiveX security is set to high
(which it's all set to enabled).

I think the root of the problem is the inability to verify digital
certificates,
because if I go to IE / Tools / Internet Options / Content / Certificates,
any certificate I click on has a big red circle with an X on the general
information page.

Disabling the Computer Configuration in the Local Computer Policy,
is the only way I've been able to get around this.

I've tried several things to figure out which parameter is causing this,
but nothing worked. Tried resetting everything to their default values
(per an article on Microsoft's website), also found an article on
how to fix a corrupt Security database, then tried resetting all the
parameters to "not configured". But none of this fixed the problem.

I think the problem is under Local Computer Policy / Computer Configuration
/
Windows Settings / Security Settings / Local Policies / Security Options.

Any suggestions, help, advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance
Andrew