ady4um, I realise there is not much to go on and am unsure myself whether it is my machine or the Avast program. I have already gone back to the previous version that has no problem loading on my system at all. I did run the Avast removal tool more than once and, as far as I’m aware, I removed everything of Avast from my system. Unfortunately, now I’ve done a system restore to the 6th Nov I have various Avast files in my program files. I’m a little reluctant to remove them as I had a problem getting hold of the version I’m now using. My thoughts are that if no one else is getting the same problem, then it is most likely linked to my system being 8yrs old and the new version of Avast being to aggressive for it for some reason. For the post underneath yours, I don’t think there is a problem with a minidump file being produced as I have some old ones in the minidump folder. But if system restore has gone back to a previous date, before I updated the latest Avast the first time, then it makes sense to me that the minidump file would now no longer exist. Anyway, I’ll check it out. Meanwhile I’ll stick to the old version and maybe have another go at installing the latest when I’ve got more time to spare. I will also report back if I should find out the reason. Many thanks for all your help.