I have repeatedly uninstalled and reinstalled. I have never had any other AV on this computer. I tested the problem on four other XP SP2 boxes with the same result. The services fail to start. One of the dependencies is “Standard Shield Support” which is not installed in services. The problem occurred out of the blue with no changes being made to the computer in the last 30 days. I have tried various recommendations on the forum to no avail. It appears that the issue is prevalent and that the complete solution is unknown with some getting fixes without any knowledge of why. I purchased the Pro version and I use this for business. I have critical files in it is imperative that I find an immediate solution. If one is not available, I need to know so I can move on to other AV providers.
Welcome to the Forum 
can you specify which services won’t start.
Can you post a Hackthis Log ?
Thanks
Al968
Which path did you install avast?
You keep talking about a problem yet you don’t give any details about it. What errors are displayed if any ?
Have you checked windows start, run and type, services.msc there are four services, two should be automatic and two manual start, see image, are yours the same ?
Are there any errors in the windows Even Viewer or avast Log Viewer, Warning section ?
Please give us some info 
HackThis Log + Avast Log
lol
It all for your own good
Al968
Please don’t rush to ask for a hijackthis log when the originator hasn’t even clearly stated what the problem is.
The reason the Services are not starting is unlikely to be revealed in a HJT log, the fact that this problem is the same over 4 other computers suggests a more fundamental problem.
Yes, None of the 4 services start. They are correctly configured per the diagram just outlined. Two Auto and two Manual. No errors are reported other than the event viewing stating the service failed to start. The services timed out and did not respond to a control request in a timely fashion. The Avast log has no data in it. It requires a service to run it. The path is the standard path in program files.
very usefull information,
Did you try setting the two service that are on manual to auto ?
Also you could try reinstalling Avast, you just need the product key.
Hope this helps
Al968
yes, both the 2 manuals were tested with auto, and I have reinstalled some ten times even using the aswclear.exe as an option a few times to uninstall. The services still do not start.
In that case the HackThis log is required :-X
Your problem seems very strange ???
But we’ll figure it out 8)
Al968
what is a hackthislog? and how to I find it.
Sorry I misspelled it :-[
You can download it here : http://www.infos-du-net.com/telecharger/HijackThis,0301-454.html
It is a dignosis program run it then post the results on the forum and we’ll take a look at it
Al968
I need the link in English, I don’t know french. Merci
Two programs were just installed trying to find hijackthis by accident. One a spyware Noadware, and on PC DOC - registry editor, so these are new and will be deleted.
The log file will not fit here. SO i need to know how to send it.
OK here it goes
many people on this forum will not open attatchments. You may have better results if you copy and paste your log. Use a couple of posts if it won’t fit in one.
I took a look at it and I don’t see anything wrong ???
Sorry :-[
Al968
There is absolutely no point in changing the correct manual start to auto start, the asgMaiSv.exe and ashWebSv.exe should only start if the user has enabled those providers, if at any time they were disabled the service would still start. They should be left at manual.
For an on-line analysis of your log (http://hijackthis.de/logfiles/91ca5b35bf2cfa29b13b1f4b12de3a9c.html) check out the unknown entries (google the file names or upload them for a scan), do you have a firewall as the analysis doesn’t detect one. What I also find strange is why this entry is listed:
O4 - Startup: avast! Antivirus.lnk = C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashAvast.exe
That shouldn’t need to run on start-up on an XP system, it certainly isn’t on mine. Clicking that file name or desktop shortcut usually kicks off a memory scan and opens the simple user interface to enable you to do an on-demand scan.
I don’t know if kicking this off at start-up might have an adverse effect (it would certainly slow things down), so I suggest you fix it and see if that has a positive effect. HJT should save any changes so you can restore it if required, which I can’t see a reason for.
I added it to the startup file as a test to find a fix. I have already removed it, but the problem remains. I have notified tech support and so far there is no know solution. The alamode lines in the log are a valid program for professional real estate appraisal services. beremote.exe is not an unknown process. It is a Symantec service for backing up registry files using their advanced backup software formally Veritas. All other lines are normal as well. Yes, I have a firewall. HPTLBXFX is a service for the HP 3390 fax allinone printer.
ldei,
I do not wish to discount the fact that you are experiencing a problem.
However, computers do not change the way they run “out of the blue”, they change because of changes made to them, more often than not by those controlling them.
avast has not changed on the 4 up to date Win XP SP2 machines it is running on in this location, it has not changed for the users I support in other locations on Win XP SP2 systems. All are running - just fine as usual.
I do not post this with any intent to annoy you, I am sure your frustration is real enough. If this were a widespread problem among the literally millions of avast users we would be seeing many more “me too” posts in this forum.
This is just a plea to work with the experienced members of this forum (who, by and large, are avast users … just as you are) and, perhaps, input from the Alwil team - they are frequent participants in this forum. Oh, and a plea to keep it to one thread rather than expressing your frustration in multiple threads.