However, is XP not capable of monitoring Avast for me? I'm sure it used to tell me that AV was upto date. Also, when I try to "repair" Avast via the Control Panel - I notice that the programme has not been used for some time. This is not right as Resident Protection is always running. Do i have problems here?
Yes, anything is messed in your system.
Can you post the contents of these Windows Registry keys in your system?
Maybe you do not have all of them (don't worry).
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\\VDD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\\VDD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\\VDD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet003\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\\VDD
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet004\Control\VirtualDeviceDrivers\\VDD
What version of XP Home, XP home, XP home SP1, XP home SP2?
XP Home and XP home SP1 do not have Central Security...