The only problem is that there is no group policy editor in windows xp home
edition.....
anyone ever encounter this before?
This has only happened since sp2 has been installed previously it was
controlled by me and was on..

This means you have a virus onboard. Group Policy editor is not available in XP Home, but the firewall Policy settings can be enabled via the registry. Check the system for virus / Malware.

Trend Micro Sysclean package
http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=10820

The Parasite Fight - Quick Fix Protocol:
http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.php

Windows Firewall options are grayed out:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/resetfwpol.htm

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


"mjbahniu" <mjbahniu@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:0AD6455A-438C-474E-BBEE-8480B802E4D7@microsoft.com...
The only problem is that there is no group policy editor in windows xp home
edition.....
anyone ever encounter this before?
This has only happened since sp2 has been installed previously it was
controlled by me and was on..