1. "The certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted"

This is a certificate trust issue when connecting to SQL Server or IIS over SSL. Here's what you can try:

Install the missing certificate: Open the certificate from the server (you can get it by visiting the site in a browser) and install it in the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store on the machine you're installing from.

Use TrustServerCertificate=True: You've already tried this, but make sure it's added correctly in all the right places (your connectionStrings.config file too, not just the JSON files).

Example:

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<add name="core" connectionString="Data Source=CHL132737;Initial Catalog=Sitecore_Core;User ID=xxx;Password=xxx;Encrypt=True;TrustServerCertificate=True;" />

Double-check SQL Server and firewall settings: If SSL is forced on the server and the certificate isn't trusted, it’ll break the connection even if credentials are correct.

2. "Invalid object name 'Items'" error on Sitecore login

This usually means the database wasn't set up properly. Since you said the DB got created but Sitecore doesn’t load, there might be a problem in the install script or partial deployment.

To fix it:

Make sure the Sitecore databases (Core, Master, Web, XP, etc.) have the right data. It might’ve created empty databases due to the earlier certificate error.

Re-run the install after fixing the certificate issue. Start fresh or clean up the partially installed DBs first.

Review logs in the Sitecore XP0 Configuration output folder and any SQL errors that may have been skipped.