Macbook Pro Unibody 2012/A1278

If Safe Mode boots fine, then it usually indicates a problem with a Login Item or a third party driver. But there could also be a problem with the hard drive as well since it may not be accessing a damaged section since it is accessing fewer boot files in Safe Mode. Check out your third party apps which include drivers as the most likely cause of the boot issues. Either update those apps to the latest versions, or uninstall them by following the developer's instructions. Anti-virus apps, cleaning apps, and third party security software are not needed on a Mac and tend to cause all sorts of problems and would be the first ones to uninstall.

I suspect either a failing drive, a bad hard drive SATA Cable, or perhaps the memory upgrade.

You can try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if hardware issues are detected. Unfortunately the diagnostics don't detect some types of drive failures. I can provide instructions for creating & using a bootable Linux USB stick to check the health of the drive. Let me know if you are interested.

If the drive is healthy, then there is an easy test for the hard drive SATA Cable.

What is the make & model of the memory upgrade? Macs are very particular about the memory they use so it is best to only use memory from Crucial or OWC. Even then, you need to use the exact part numbers suggested by using the tools on their respective websites to identify the compatible memory. You cannot just buy memory by using the technical specifications since some of the important specifications are not listed by Apple and neither do the memory manufacturers list these other specs on their websites these days (or if they do, those specs are hidden away on data sheets).

Kduval7 wrote:

I ran the Apple diagnostics and a couple of issues came up. First was that my Mac did not detect a battery. I am aware of this and I am working on getting a new one. Any suggestions? Second, it stated that there may be an issue with the SMC. Lastly, it stated that there may be an issue with the camera.

That sounds like you have some hardware issues. SMC issues will be due to a bad SMC chip or circuit on the Logic Board. A camera issue can be due to either a bad camera/cable or a bad Logic Board. It is unusual to have multiple parts to go bad at the same time unless accidental damage is involved (at least in my personal experience) or some kind of catastrophic power surge (rare). I'd say it is time to retire this laptop.

I am also interested in the bootable Linux USB stick if you think that would help.

I doubt it will help much as I think there are too many different hardware issues going on with this laptop. You can download a Knoppix Linux v9.x DVD .iso file with "EN" in the name for ENglish. Use the Knoppix .iso file as a source for Etcher (Mac/Windows/Liknux) in order to create a bootable Knoppix USB stick. Option Boot the Knoppix USB stick and select the orange icon labeled "EFI". The Mac may appear frozen on the Apple boot picker menu, so make sure to give Knoppix lots of time to finish booting. See how the laptop works. I'm not sure if the camera will work though as I know sometimes an Apple iSight camera requires extra configuration to work with Linux.

To check the health of the drive click on the "Start" menu icon on the lower left corner of the Taskbar and navigate the menus to "System Tools ---> GSmartControl". Within the GSmartControl app double-click on the drive's icon to access the drive's health report. Post the full health report here.

Also the upgraded RAM that I placed in was from Timetec 8GB DDR3L 16MHZ if that helps

Macs are very picky about the memory they use. Most contributors on these forums only recommend using memory from either Crucial or OWC. Even then, only use the exact part numbers suggested using the tools on their respective websites for the exact memory that is compatible. Using any other memory from Crucial or OWC will usually result in problems due to how picky Macs are. There are a lot of memory technical specifications which neither Apple nor many memory manufacturers provide which are very important for compatibility. I'm not saying other brands won't work, but it is very hard to tell and hard to be sure.