Thanks Larry and Jun Qian,  (and any missed cross-posts)

I guess the lesson to be learned is to mount the heatsink on a flat
surface outside the case first, - because there are no
stand-offs/spacers near the Socket to take the strain; Well, not on my
Asus mobo.anyway.

When I eventually upgrade to Athlon and go through the excercise again,
I'll remember Larrys' tip and 'tweak' the spring a little, - just enough
to relieve a little of the huge pressure. Commonsense dictates that
there must be potential problems with the socket tabs as the plastic
ages and becomes brittle.

The dab of Artic Silver was applied free by my local dealer as part of
the service, (one of the advantages of buying locally) - along with the
good advice to use a single-edge blade to remove the surplus and leave a
very thin smear over the total tiny contact area. Works like a charm !

Also, I note that my Coolermaster HSF unit was originally engineered for
Socket 370, so presumably Socket A has the same dimensions, - different
CPU pin array, of course.

Thanks again guys, for the reassurance.
I was worried about the amount of pressure needed, but feel I've managed
a good install after all.
Hopefully my experience will help others in my position.

Kevin.

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