Thanks, David! Yes, I did forget to disable self-defence. I had clicked on the link pcs provided and followed that tutorial, which didn't include that part. Sorry about that. I should have re-read the previous posts before posting my dilemma.
I was able to do the cut and paste and the old chest files are now in the new chest. Oddly, there are only a handful of what look to be non-essential files there from last night's challenges. Don't know what the 26 files from boot scan were or where they went, as it said they were moved to chest. Things seem up and operational now, although moving kinda sluggishly. So appreciate the guidance from you all!
Now, the only small glitch is the icon not showing up in the tray. I did go on another account and it was in place there, but it is still not appearing in the tray on the admin account. I've checked to make sure they are not hidden and I've gone to ashdisp and tried to run that but nothing happened. I've also tried a repair to no avail. I've checked processes and all seems to be running. In fact, the screen just came up informing me of an update. Not a big deal, in light of getting this other mess fixed, but it is more handy to have it there. Anything else I can try?
You're welcome.
1. Is it possible that you actually didn't send them to the chest but 'moved/renamed' them ?
If so check the C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\moved folder they would have been appended with a .vir.
2. avast! icon missing - As a temporary measure until this is resolved you can create a desktop shortcut for this file C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\ashDisp.exe (the avast icon and interface to the providers). Right click on the file and select Send To, Desktop (create shortcut). You will need to run this after each boot until the problem is resolved.
What other security based software do you have that might block new startup entries, e.g. Spybot S&D (TeaTimer), AdAware (AdWatch), SpySweeper, Spyware Doctor (StartUpGuard or OnGuard), PrevX, WinPatrol, ProcessGuard, etc. ?
Check the option in the Appearance tab of Program Settings. Or Make a link to ashdisp.exe in your startup folder. I wouldn't try this as a first option (but a final one) as you won't be able to find the true cause of the problem.
I just remembered that at some point I did a system restore to one day earlier. Would this have negated the missing boot scan file issue?
I honestly don't know, partly because system restore ins't like an exact copy of how your system was before at the point you choose.
Check out this file, C:\Program Files\Alwil Software\Avast4\DATA\report\aswBoot.txt using notepad it will list all detections during the boot-time scan and from that you can check if these files were recovered by going back with system restore.