IE7 Tools Setting issue

I am having an issue making changes in my Internet settings. I am running WXP SP2 and recently upgraded to IE7. While trying to trouble-shoot an issue, I atempted to go to TOOLS/INTERNET OPTIONS/SECURITY and adjust any of the settings in this area. However, they are all greyed out and I am not able to adjudt them. There is a notice at the bottom stating that "some settings are managed by your system administrator". It goes on to say that "If your computer is part of a network at an organization such as a school or a business, your organization's system administrator might have disabled or even removed certain settings by using Group Policy. Group Policy is a feature of Windows that lets system administrators manage users' access to Windows features. If you suspect that Group Policy is preventing you from changing a setting that you need to access, contact your system administrator.". However, my laptop is NOT part of a network and is a stand-alone system. I am unable to figure out why I cannot adjust these settings. I think these settings are also rpeventing me from being able to access a specific website (from IE7 and Mozila) on this PC only. It works on other systems. ANyone have any suggestions for this? Thanks!