My Windows 11 does not detect the second RAM slot (Slots used 1 of 1).

[DonJuan3]

I have wanted to expand the RAM of my device (HP Victus 16-d1) to 16 GB, but when I check with the task manager, it says there is only one slot. When I run the command ‘wmic memphysical get MaxCapacity, MemoryDevices’ in CMD, it does detect both slots, as does the HP Hardware Diagnostics. The BIOS and firmware are updated, and physically the slot in in good condition and my device has not suffered any falls or impacts, so I am unsure if it is a system issue or if my laptop is defective. Is this an obstacle to expanding my memory? And if so, can it be repaired manually?

[BeemerBiker]

According to the service manual you have two slots for memory.

I'm not sure what is going on. Try some memory and it didn't work?

An easy way to find what memory you have is to run the wmic app from the windows command prompt. Bring up the window CMD prompt and enter the following line to see what memory you have.

wmic memorychip get devicelocator, capacity, speed, MemoryType, formfactor, partnumber, manufacturer


Should look something like the following. To purchase identical memory search for the part number shown and look for the letters 'HP' on any label attached to the memory stick.

[DonJuan3]

I bought a 16GB module and I installed it today. First, I had to remove the existing one because the device wouldn't run with both at the same time. Apparently, the second slot works! The new RAM is installed there, so I don't think there would be a problem if I want add more RAM later. Thanks for the help!Task manager

[BeemerBiker]

Just because one stick of memory is known to be compatible does not mean that a pair of them will work. For example, memory that is dual rank takes two virtual slots and single rank memory takes one virtual slot.

Depending on the motherboard design, the system might accept a pair of single rank but reject a pair of dual rank if it counts dual rank as taking two physical slots.

Possibly your new memory is 2rx8 or dual rank.  If the motherboard thinks it takes two slots you will not be able to add additional memory since it thinks the physical slots are already filled up.

Run this program from the windows command prompt

 wmic memphysical get maxcapacityEx, MemoryDevices

This is what my system shows

I have only 4 sticks of memory but the motherboard reports there are 8 because the memory is double sided (rank 2)

If your system reports you have two memory devices it is likely you will not be able to add an additional stick of memory in the future.

If your system reports only one memory device you should be able to add another one of  the same type.

[DonJuan3]

I am not really sure what is going on then.
This is the information i got from the previous commands (RAM added)

So, i won't be able do add more RAM? That's weird, i thought the board could be upgraded to 32GB.

Does this have a solution? I couldn't find other cases like this on the internet.

[BeemerBiker]

I think you are okay.

It is just suspicious that the other memory did not work with it.

There are two tools you might want to download to check out your actual memory and processor speed and your video performance.

Verify CPU speed using this tool (CPU-Z)

You might be able to check for GPU/CPU temperature problems using this tool (GPU-Z) and selecting 'sensors'

The task manager can show a problem such as CPU or GPU running at %100 load or not having enough memory