The patrol disk upgrades from SH 1.0 to SH 1.3 then to SH 1.31 are available in the downloads area here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...p?do=cat&id=42
Be sure you do the 1.3 patch first, then re-boot just to be safe and do the 1.31 patch next. You should be good to go. I recommend a re-boot after applying the 1.31 patch before trying to start SH 1.31
I think to get a personal avatar you just need to make a nice donation to Subsim. Click the "Make a Donation" button on top of the page.
Even without the avatar it is for a good cause. It would be terrible to lose subsim. Sometimes we take websites for granted until they suddenly disappear. Recently I have seen some good ones go.
Happy Hunting!
Art