I rather doubt the delay avast services will make any difference as the delay is fractions of a second as it only waits for other 'system services.'
If the above doesn't resolve it then:
Delay Auto Update - In avast7 you need to edit (using
notepad)
avast5.ini the
[InetWD] section of the, C:\ProgramData\AVAST Software\Avast\avast5.ini. Win7, Vista location, this folder may be hidden. - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AVAST Software\Avast\avast5.ini (XP file location)
- Broadband connections, add this line:
AlwaysConnectedWaitSeconds=120 and
AssumeAlwaysConnected=1 if not present (or edit AssumeAlwaysConnected=0 to AssumeAlwaysConnected=1)
[InetWD]
AssumeAlwaysConnected=1
AlwaysConnectedWaitSeconds=120
When complete save the changes, avast's self-defence module will ask for confirmation, etc. answer Yes.
You may want to extend that duration further given what you said, try setting it to 300 (5 minutes).
Under normal circumstances this update check and any download as required shouldn't slow things much, it would depend on A) what you allow to run on startup, B) Your connection method, presumed broadband for the above and B) your system spec, e.g. OS, RAM, CPU ?