System does not recognize ram stick in secondary slot

[Thomas_63]

I am having some issues upgrading the memory in my laptop, which is an ASUS N550JK. I am trying to upgrade the memory from 8gb to 16gb, using a set of 2x8gb sticks. However the computer only recognizes the stick which is placed in the 1st slot, nothing placed in the second slot is recognized. I have switched which stick is in which slot and to no avail, when I only placed a memory stick in the second slot, the computer failed to start. My first thought was that the connector might be dirty, but even after cleaning it with some isopropyl alcohol, the problem persists. Anyone have any ideas on what I might need to do?
sticks used: Kingston HyperX 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3L CL9 SODIMM 1.35V Laptop Memory (HX316LS9IBK2/16)
Computer : ASUS N550 DS71T

 

[Lutfij]

1| Have you made sure your BIOS is up to date?
2| Are you currently running on Windows 10 or are you on Windows 8? If Windows 10 and your installation is based off the free upgrade path then revert to Windows 8, install your ram, make sure everything is in order and then upgrade to Windows 10.

I'm blaming the OS in this instance because your activation key is bound to the hardware and the motherboard via the UEFI so any component change as small as the DIMMS is seen as a new system when it(OS) cross references the system specs and activation key with Microsoft's database.

You can rule your ram out for being the faulty one by running memtest86 for 10 passes and if any errors come up before 10 passes then the culprit is your modules. According to Asus's product specification page you're in the safe as

DDR3L 1600 MHz SDRAM, DIMM Up to 16 G

is your maximum memory capacity. You could try a dry run by installing a dual memory stick kit into your system that isn't the same as you old ram/kit e.g 2x4GB possibly from a friend.