Question Laptop won't detect the soldered RAM ?

[TheyStoppedit]

So, I've got a laptop here. Its an ASUS X515. Core i7 1165G7, 4GB soldered + 8GB RAM. Intel XE Graphics.

Anyway, I wanted a RAM upgrade. So I took out the 8GB RAM chip and put in a 16GB one to make 20GB total. I turned it on but no matter what I did the laptop wouldnt POST. So I figured maybe my 16GB RAM stick was DOA. So I pulled it out, put the 8GB one back in, and now when I open Task Manager it says I only have 8GB RAM instead of 12. BIOS only detects the 8GB stick, the 4GB soldered one isn't detected anymore.
The 8GB stick is the same 1.2V as the 16GB one that didnt work.

What happened to my 4GB soldered RAM and why won't the 16GB stick work?

 

[Lutfij]

Might want to see if you have a BIOS version pending an update. if the laptop doesn't fire up with the onboard ram, then you might've zapped it when you were disassembling it(due to static charge on you, probably) but you can't replace off the shelf ram IC's in place of the one's that's soldered onto the motherboard.

Might want to pass on an image of both sticks of ram.

 

[TheyStoppedit]

Might want to see if you have a BIOS version pending an update. if the laptop doesn't fire up with the onboard ram, then you might've zapped it when you were disassembling it(due to static charge on you, probably) but you can't replace off the shelf ram IC's in place of the one's that's soldered onto the motherboard.

Might want to pass on an image of both sticks of ram.

I never tried to replace the soldered one, just the removable one. But I want to know why the 4GB soldered isn't detected anymore

 

[Misgar]

But I want to know why the 4GB soldered isn't detected anymore

Because (as has already been explained) you might have zapped it with an Electro Static Discharge.
https://blog.item24.com/en/esd-en/identifying-esd-damage-using-an-electron-microscope/

Laptops can be fussy about single-rank vs dual-rank memory. You may have the correct voltage (and speed?) but the "rank" might not be supported in the BIOS. There's a chance that fitting the 16GB SODIMM might have killed the 4GB soldered RAM.

Did you check on the laptop manufacturer's web site (or the Kingston and Crucial web sites) to see if your BIOS supports 16GB SODIMMs and is the new module listed in the QVL, or did you just take a chance with potentially unsupported RAM?

If the worst comes to the worst, you'll just have to accept 8GB max and the laptop still works with the "bad" 4GB RAM in situ. If the machine misbehaves, take it to a specialist laptop repair shop. Best of luck.

 

[Bob.B]

So, I've got a laptop here. Its an ASUS X515. Core i7 1165G7, 4GB soldered + 8GB RAM. Intel XE Graphics. Anyway, I wanted a memory upgrade. So I took out the 8GB memory chip, put in a 16, to make 20 total. I turned it on, no matter what I did, laptop wouldnt post. So I figured maybe my 16GB memory stick was DOA. So I pulled it out, put the 8GB back in, and now when I go to task manager, it says I only have 8GB instead of 12. BIOS only detects the 8GB. The 4GB soldered isnt detected anymore. The 8GB stick is the same 1.2V as the 16GB one that didnt work. What happened to my 4GB soldered? And why wont the 16 work?

Using only the soldered ram what happens?

 

[TheyStoppedit]

With just the soldered RAM, it wont POST.

Even if just the 16GB stick would work, and I had to forgo the soldered RAM, I would be fine with that, but I can't figure out why the 16GB stick wont work, when it works in other laptops just fine.

The 16GB stick is: F4-3200C22S-16GRS
The 8GB stick is: HMA81GS6DJR8N-XN

I looked at the specs sheet of both. They are both exactly the same (besides the obvious capacity difference). Even the timings/voltage is exactly the same. There is no excuse for it not to work, unless the BIOS by design can't take more than 16GB.... which would be really odd for an 11th gen CPU. But I dont know.....??? Anything???????

 

[Misgar]

There is no excuse for it not to work, unless the BIOS by design can't take more than 16GB

I agree your Asus X515 should work with a 16GB DDR4-3200 SODIMM.

it's one of the options listed on the Crucial and Kingston websites.
https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/asus/vivobook-15-x515
https://www.kingstonmemoryshop.co.uk/laptop/asus/x500-series/asus-x515-laptop

IMPORTANT. The Kingston site states their RAM for the X515 is single-rank.

If I'm reading this Reddit post correctly, your Gskill RAM is dual rank:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Asustuf/comments/147n1vn/is_gskill_good_ram/

Here's the relevant section:

"G.Skill Ripjaws SO-DIMM 16GB (1 * 16GB) DDR4 3200 CL22-22-22-52 1.20V Laptop Memory RAM F4-3200C22S-16GRS.

It's dual rank..."

I can't figure out why the 16GB stick wont work, when it works in other laptops just fine.

My theory is your ASUS X515's BIOS only supports single-rank, whereas your other laptop might support dual-rank. That could be why the Gskill memory doesn't work in both laptops.

I suggest you try a Kingston or Crucial single-rank 16GB SODIMM selected from the links above and see what happens.

Laptops can be far more fussy about RAM than desktop PCs, which is why it pays to check compatibility.

Sometimes you can fit higher capacity memory in a laptop than the claimed upper limit.

RAM capacities per module increase with time, but laptop manufacturer's often fail to change their documentation to reflect these changes. Whether or not you can fit a higher capacity module than the stated maximum is in the lap of the gods.

The CPU-world web site shows the i7-1165G7 will work with up to 64GB RAM, so in theory you might be able to fit a 32GB SODIMM. Try browsing a few forums to see if anyone has done this.
https://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Core_i7/Intel-Core i7 i7-1165G7.html

Integrated peripherals / components
Memory controller	The number of controllers: 1 Memory channels (per controller): 2 Memory channels (total): 2 Supported memory: DDR4-3200, LPDDR4x-4267

When upgrading laptop memory, I always keep my fingers crossed, hoping I'm made the right choice. I'm relieved if it actually works when installed, but am not surprised if it doesn't.

I've not had your problem with soldered-in RAM apparently dying after fitting a new SODIMM.

https://www.cgdirector.com/single-rank-vs-dual-rank-ram/