I'm quite sure the problem is not related.
I think so, too, since I'm not using ACE. As far as I know, not so many average users use ACE, which is why I didn't post this in the Avast Home/Pro forum. My system could open varieties of archives including ACE, though. Upon formatting, I only installed achievers I use.
If you are wondering if I lost my confidence on Avast!, I simply tell I had already installed it on my new system without hesitation. However, like in Mozilla/Firefox's case, I posted the info just in case.
PS
Nobody would say backing up is a fascinating task but the routine saved a lot of my time. The old trick of dividing system drive and data drives worked fine as well. I'm now thinking of storing all of my private data (including browsers and mail apps) in USB memories, which can't afford my 60 GB of music files, though.