Not only does it not start… it will not accept my IT provider as legit. I am getting irate when these program updates are so flawed. Five years ago this month, I lost my system after an incomplete avast update.
Please help
Have you tried avast repair?
Controlpanel > ad/remove programs > avast > uninstall/change > repair option …wait a minute and reboot
Any change?
it will not accept my IT provider as legit.Can you explain ..... more details
Actually Avast firewall is blocking all connectiomd, including itself? A big red box appears. It says Avast need to start: hit start svc, nothing/ hit resolve all, nothing. I have been working on this for days. BTW did clean install, still same issues. Any suggestions?
Attach OTL diagnostic log http://forum.avast.com/index.php?topic=53253.0
is it possible to do this in safe mode networking? I am communicating via my phone
You can run OTL from safemode…
Am I able to download OTL program in safe mode "with networking?
Thank you Pondus for giving me help, however because Avast would not start after the update, my system is in need of more than I am able.
Five years ago " Dec 2008" this same thing happened, an incomplete update install which caused a complete system failure (thats what the pc tech told me).
I am so disheartened … and hoping this time I don’t need a rebuild. 
Happy 2014 to you
After things are fixed and working, strongly consider doing regular full disk image backups of your system.
Some 1 TB removable hard drives are now less than $100 US, and there are many disk imaging programs to choose from, some of them free.
Anything can, and eventually will go wrong, as you well know.
Being able to restore your entire system in short order is protection users can’t afford not to have.
And my honest thanks jwood. I definitely need to backup regularly- I just never expected this “again” .
I am a writer and my PC is typewriter. I don’t have a lot of programs, and I keep my comp clean. For all of you who voluntarily help: thank you.