Avast loading on startup

I have noticed that avast is one of the last programs to load when I start my PC. It starts quite a while after the PC connects to the internet, and often downloads stuff, such as time sync, before avast is running. How can I get avast to load first, so that the PC is protected in those first couple of essential minutes? OS XP sp3

Go to the settings on the top right of the avast interface, in the last option on list on the left or somewhere in the last points there is an option to load avast after all system services. Is this UNCHECKED?

Thanks Stephen. I have looked as you advised, but that option was already unchecked.

Restart your computer. After you logged in right click on task bar and then task manager. Under services should be something called avastsvc.exe. Maybe its just the interface which is loading late, AvastUI.exe