The sata ports on a 10 year old HP IPIEL-LA3 fail. The machine has been acting a server for several years and the sata ports fail a short time after power up.
My question is whether that failure could be due to a failure of the heat sink function of a chip.
There is a small heat sink near the sata connections on the MB. This heat sink is held in contact with the underlying chip by a Z shaped spring that is held down to the MB by two inverted U shaped loops soldered to the MB. The heat sink is finned aluminum about 1.3 inches on a side and .4 inches high.
Could a breakdown of the thermal contact between an old heat sink and the chip cause overheating of the chip.
If so, how do I release the Z spring from the U shaped mounts? I have tried bending one end with long nosed pliers but I run the risk of slipping off and breaking stuff on the MB.
Thanks for any info.