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Did you pull the new ram and put the old ones back in, to see if the issues continue?
 
OP wrote:
"i upgraded the ram to 8gb only 4gb shows up"

I know it's work, but do this:

Take NEW RAM -OUT-, put original RAM back in.
Does it boot now?

If so, reopen the MacBook and try ONE of the new DIMMS in place of an original.
Does it boot and run now?
If so, set that DIMM aside as "a good one".

Replace it with the OTHER NEW DIMM.
Does it boot and run now?
If so, perhaps one of the new DIMMs wasn't quoted "seated correctly" before.

Try replacing again with BOTH new DIMMs.
How does it do now?
 
I'm in class right now so I'll get back to u on that but it boots windows and is x fine just not the recovery partition it keeps rebooting
[doublepost=1474987973][/doublepost]And I bought the MacBook off eBay had 1 2gb stick in it
 
it boots windows and is x fine just not the recovery partition it keeps rebooting
And I bought the MacBook off eBay had 1 2gb stick in it
Which OS is installed? Is it the the same OS that was installed when the MBP was bought off eBay? Have you ever been able to boot to the Recovery partition since you bought it? What are the specs and manufacturer of the new RAM?
EDIT: Exactly which model & screen size MBP do you have? We know it's a 2009, but there were five 2009 versions.

I'm wondering if you have 2 problems:
1) There isn't a proper Recovery partition.
2) RAM problem (incorrect specs, one of the sticks is bad or not properly seated).
 
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It's a 2.53 ghost core 2 duo MacBook Pro 5,1 it came with El Capitan installed before I upgraded the ram I had it duelbooting snow leopard as el cap was un usable with 2gb ram
 
If your MacBook arrived with only a single RAM stick installed, then that's likely your issue - one slot doesn't work, and the seller likely knew it.
If you determine that the second slot is dead, then you have a couple of choices:
Replace the logic board to get both slots working.
Or, you have the single stick with maximum possible, which is the 4GB stick.
(A MacBook Pro5,1 - MBPro (15-inch, Late2008) does not support 8GB, only 4GB in each slot.)

(bonus 3rd choice - give up on that MBPro, find another MBPro!)
 
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If you have never been able to boot to the Recovery partition, then a easy way to install the Recovery partition is to reinstall the full El Capitan and it will install a El Capitan Recovery partition for you. You can reinstall the full OS without losing you current data and settings, BUT do a backup of both your partitions (El Capitan & Snow Leopard) just in case.
 
OP wrote:
"I'm in class right now so I'll get back to u on that but it boots windows and is x fine just not the recovery partition it keeps rebooting"

You didn't TELL US that bit of information.

In that case, try this:
1. Power down, all the way off
2. Press the power-on button
3. IMMEDIATELY hold down the option key and KEEP HOLDING IT DOWN until the startup manager appears
4. Do you see an icon representing your "regular" Mac boot partition?
4a. If you do, click on it with the pointer and hit return.
Does it now boot normally?
If so, when you get to the finder, open up the Startup Disk pref pane and set your Mac partition to be the BOOT partition.

4b. If you DO NOT see an icon for the regular Mac boot partition, I will guess that something is wrong with the OS install.
You may have to do a re-install…

Edit:
The info in post 9 above could be relevant, as well.
 
like i said it boots into el cap fine just was curious why recovery wouldn't boot.
How about this, since you have not answered my questions about having ever been able to boot into Recovery;
Check the :apple: Menu;
About This Mac>System Report>SATA/SATA Express> scroll down to see if it shows a "Recovery HD:"?
 
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