Local security policy errors in Microsoft Windows ?

First determine whether the failure affects a specific security setting or the entire security configuration. Open Local Security Policy by running secpol.msc, navigate to the affected setting, and check whether Windows allows you to modify it. If the computer is joined to an Active Directory domain, check whether a domain Group Policy Object (GPO) overrides the local setting. Run gpresult /h C:\Temp\GPResult.html from an elevated Command Prompt to generate a report of applied policies. Note that domain GPOs can override local security settings, so a local change might not take effect even when the local policy editor accepts it.

To check the security policy database, open an elevated Command Prompt and run secedit /validate %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf to validate the default security template syntax. This does not validate or repair the live security policy database. To analyze the current security configuration, export it to a security template using secedit /export /cfg C:\Temp\SecurityConfig.inf. Review the resulting file for the affected settings and compare them with an approved baseline. If you suspect that the security policy database is corrupted, inspect %windir%\security\database for the secedit.sdb database. Do not delete, rename, or replace this database as an initial troubleshooting step, because doing so can disrupt security configuration management.

Next, review Event Viewer for errors recorded when the policy application failed. Run eventvwr.msc, open Windows Logs, and inspect the System and Application logs around the time of the failure. Also examine Applications and Services Logs under Microsoft, Windows, and GroupPolicy, where available, for Group Policy processing errors. Check the Security log for relevant audit events if auditing is enabled. Record the event IDs, error codes, affected policy settings, and timestamps. These details help distinguish access-denied errors, policy conflicts, database issues, and failures caused by domain connectivity.

To restore a consistent security configuration, first export the existing configuration and record the current policy settings. If the computer is domain-joined, identify the authoritative domain GPO and correct the configuration there rather than repeatedly forcing local changes. If the computer is standalone, use an approved security template or organizational baseline to restore the intended settings. Windows provides secedit /configure for applying a security template to the local computer. For example, after reviewing and approving a template, run secedit /configure /db C:\Temp\Restore.sdb /cfg C:\Temp\ApprovedBaseline.inf /overwrite /areas securitypolicy user_rights /log C:\Temp\Restore.log. This example applies the specified security policy and user-rights areas, so ensure the template contains the intended settings before running it. A template that omits settings does not necessarily reset those settings to their defaults.

If policy processing remains inconsistent, run gpupdate /force to refresh Group Policy, then restart the computer if required by the affected settings. Review the resulting logs and verify the effective configuration again using secedit /export and gpresult. Avoid applying secedit /configure against %windir%\inf\defltbase.inf indiscriminately, because restoring defaults can change user rights assignments and security settings that applications or administrators depend on. For domain-managed computers, use the organization's approved baseline and change-control process to avoid creating a configuration that conflicts with centrally managed policy.

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hth

Marcin