Hi,
I'll have to guess at your second question -- I believe that if you disable VRDB generation, it simply no longer periodically updates your existing VRDB, but leaves the old file in place.
As for the file itself, it's (normally) in \data\integ under your avast folder. On my XP-home system, it's a single file, something over 15 megs.
But why on earth would you want to ditch it? It's avast's "first line of defense" in repairing files that have become infected.
Best,
Mike