local security policy missing

Hey guys,
I have win 2000. When i go to start>adm tools>local security policy, a snap in opens up. Now the problem. When i click on any folder in the account policies or local policies, i get this message>> "windows cannot open the local policy database. The database you are attempting to open does not exist.
In essence i am unable to do anything with my local security policies. I have tried importing the templates, but it will say" database does not exist."
I am having a problem connecting to this computer over a network. This could be part of the problem. I have no idea what happened to it. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have been to microsoft web site, but to no avail. thanks again