Access Denied: Troubleshooting a "Failed to open the Group Policy Object" Error

Whenever I try to open a Group Policy Object (GPO) to view its security settings, I get the error Failed to open the Group Policy Object. You may not have appropriate rights. Details: The system cannot find the path specified. Why can't Windows find the GPO?

This error usually signifies a problem with DNS. To ensure that your DNS server is functioning correctly and isn't logging errors, check the DNS event log on your DNS servers and the Directory Service (DS) log on all your domain controllers (DCs).

If DNS is functioning correctly, the problem could be something more serious, such as a problem with your SYSVOL share or file replication on your DCs. A good way to check those and other problems with Group Policy is to use the Group Policy Verification Tool (gpotool.exe), which you can download from http://www.microsoft .com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/gpotool-o.asp. At the command line, type

gpotool /verbose

Gpotool performs a complete check of each DC and GPO and provides summary information about each object. Look for lines that begin with the word Error.