Is it normal for VRDB to take a long time
VRDB takes time... all your executable files will be processed.
and why does it only store 3 system files I would have thought there were more files that were potential virus targets.
You're messing VRDB with Chest (Quarantine). That three files are on Chest for backup purposes.
VRDB stores the necessary info to restore executables (*.exe, *.com) files.
VRDB is not a backup system, the stored information is very small (not the whole files).
Besides, only Win32 executables are processed.
The VRDB data are stored in <avast>\Data\Integ\avast.int
So it's not a backup utility, but a restore feature of avast.
Is there anyway of improving this feature in future updates even if its only to have a progress bar or notification when its done?
This was asked before... but if you want to quickly create VRDB, just choose to 'create it now' and wait.