Hello. I'm new on the forum. I apologized if the answer is already posted for this problem.

I have this Western Digital 500GB HDD, Model: WD5000AAKX-001CA0 that when connected to my PC only hangs at Welcome to Windows for eternity.
SMART data before says it has 45% of life so I stop using it and wait for replacement. Now I can't access this drive to copy my files.
I tried using a USB enclosure it shows only a drive letter but can't access either.

I there a way I can recover my files?

Tahoe_LT always suffering from slow responding. However, precise diagnosis required.
Search for MHDD bootable and try to diagnose your problem and post the results.