Help? Laptop won't recognize ram upgrade :(

[Ariella]

Hi folks! I asked this one a different forum once and didn't have much luck, but it occurred to me that y'all are probably much smarter here, so I'm gonna give it a try.

I recently bought a 2x8GB ram kit to upgrade my 2012 'stock' ThinkPad, which came with one 4GB stick and an empty auxiliary slot for future upgrades. The kit allegedly is the correct model for my particular ThinkPad, according to Crucial's website.

The laptop recognizes the 8GB in the main slot, but refuses to recognize anything in the auxiliary slot. I've switched them both, so both sticks work. I've seated and reseated them countless times, thinking it was a connectivity issue. I've even tried the old 4GB in the auxiliary slot. I cannot get the computer to recognize anything in the extra slot. I also tried leaving the main ram slot empty and only putting one stick in the auxiliary -- comp can't boot/see it.

This leads me to believe that (a) there's a hardware failure and it never worked to begin with, which I find hard to believe because ThinkPads are generally pretty good quality, or (b) I have to do something in the OS to force the computer to recognize something is in there. This is where the internet fails me, I couldn't find clear guidance on how to wake up the extra slot via the OS and I'm afraid to try some of the vague suggestions online for this (I can't afford to brick this laptop).

Does anyone have any suggestions? This was my first attempt to upgrade anything on my own, so I'm kinda discouraged I failed. At least I was able to get it from 4GB to 8, LOL. Thanks for reading!

[Zachafer]

Ariella - can you post the laptop model, which RAM you bought, and which OS you are using? :)

[Ariella]

Ariella - can you post the laptop model, which RAM you bought, and which OS you are using? :)

Yessir!

ThinkPad T430
Windows 7 Professional x64
This ram kit ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) (It says Mac but it's actually listed as compatible on Crucial's website, verified by several reviews as compatible)

Also I found this if it's helpful:[Only registered and activated users can see links]
And this: [Only registered and activated users can see links]

[Zachafer]

Ok since both sticks of RAM are good and you are running 64-bit Windows 7 which allows plenty more than 16GB... It may be a limitation of your motherboard. Enter your BIOS (usually spamming F2 or DELETE when Windows is booting), look for the System Information section in the BIOS. It should have Memory Information and will tell you what is being recognized in each memory slot.

If the BIOS isn't recognizing it, it's a physical hardware problem. Make sure the sticks of RAM are fully seated, the "arms" on the side should naturally snap into place. I've also seen some weird behavior on laptops where the RAM was fine, and the memory slot was fine but it needed constant pressure to accept the RAM. Try putting both sticks in and pushing down on the RAM while booting.

[Ariella]

Zachafer Oh gosh I missed your reply earlier, so sorry!

Thank you very much, I'm disappointed this is hardware related. I thought Lenovo was supposed to be the epitome of quality...

BIOS is only displaying 8192mb of installed memory, so I'm going to try reseating it and putting some pressure on it when I get a chance -- you're right, it might just be a sticky connectivity issue. One of the screws on the plate popped recently and I immediately lost connectivity with my keyboard, had to rescrew it in really tight to get it working again, and of course that's where the extra ram slot is. I'll let you know how it goes ^^