ThinkPad E550 doesn't detect RAM upgrade

[kennethv]

[UPDATE] : I found the solution to this problem on another forum. Another person was as confused as I was by the 1.5V indicators on the ram slots. He found out the notebook really requires DDR3L which need 1.35V.


I received my new ThinkPad E550 yesterday. It has 4GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM.

Then I bought this Kingston RAM: 4GB PC3-12800 which is DD3. I know my notebook should support this one because when I open the back, it clearly indicates both RAM slots have 1.5V.

When I open Speccy I get this:

It's clear my notebook detects both RAM cards but Windows does not:

What is the problem here? I have 64-bit Windows 7 Professional.

 

[fisco]

you need ddr3l memory

 

[kennethv]

How is it Speccy detects 8GB while Windows only detects 4GB? It doesn't make sense to me. Both my DDR3 and DDR3L cards are getting enough voltages (1.5V).
Me = confused.

 

[Quixit]

Does Lenovo will only allow you to install specifically whitelisted RAM modules? I know this was an issue a few years ago so it might be worth looking into.

 

[bignastyid]

Have you tested the memory sticks individually.

 

[kennethv]

When I only put in the new one, my notebook won't boot at all.

 

[bignastyid]

When I only put in the new one, my notebook won't boot at all.

The new stick is either bad or incompatible.

 

[fisco]

How is it Speccy detects 8GB while Windows only detects 4GB? It doesn't make sense to me. Both my DDR3 and DDR3L cards are getting enough voltages (1.5V).
Me = confused.

It's not ok to mix ddr3l with ddr3 memory. It works on some mobos , but you will get higher temperatures and likely system faliures