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My network is only 100 Mbps, and I am trying to transfer a lot of files from my old HDD and it is taking all day.

I would like to take the SATA-III data cable and connect it to a USB cable, which I can take to my laptop. While, at the same time, leaving the HDD power plugged in to the old workstation.

Surely, it should be possible to make an adapter to go from the data 7-pin SATA cable to a USB connector that I can plug direct to my laptop. Most of the USB SATA adapters come with data and power together, and circuitously making it difficult to just saw off the power side. The ones you can buy do not give enough power to run a 3.5" HDD even with 2 USB connections.

PS: I know you can buy some with a power plug, but I would like something even simpler please.

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    There are adapters/enclosures for 3.5" SATA drives. Those work, don't reinvent the wheel. That said, hardware recommendations are off-topic here. Commented Mar 2 at 14:56
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    3.5 inch drives will need 12v so pure USB power won't work. Those 'toaster'/top loader style docks are the least annoying method in this situation. Commented Mar 2 at 15:02
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    So rather than use a very inexpensive box that lets you get power from the wall with an adapter and holds the drive and plugs into USB, instead you want to use just the USB-SATA part (basically a fancy cable) and then route power into another computer? Which means running another computer, withe the cover open, just to avoid a little adapter? Commented Mar 2 at 15:59
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    @ChanganAuto Questions that specifically ask for hardware recs or comparison/purchasing advice are off-topic. Questions that ask how to accomplish a task are not hardware rec questions and a perfectly fine. Likewise, a hardware rec as an answer to such a question is still fine. See also: 1. There is nothing inherently wrong about this question (from a close-voting perspective; other issues with the goal should be addressed in answers). Commented Mar 3 at 4:17
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    How do you get simpler than a single adapter? What exactly are you thinking of when you used the word "simpler"? I'm pretty sure you're not using the right word. I think you meant to use the word "accessible", meaning, you want to be able to do it now, using some hack, with typical cables and wires available at your disposal without getting the adapter. If you really mean the latter, then you risk destroying, at minimum, your drive. Just cut up the wires and plug it in and see what happens. If you do it right, it'll work. Commented Mar 3 at 8:16

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As ChanganAuto said in the first comment, 3.5" SATA to USB adapters exist. This is the best and safest way to do this. They arent expensive either. They come in a variety of types. Some support multiple drives, some also have connections for 2.5" drives and/or IDE drives. Some are actual enclosures, while some are just bare connectors. If speed is what you need, be sure to get USB v3, assuming your laptop supports it.

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    An alternative is just buying a portable USB SSD/HDD. Those adapters can depending on the brand and quality (and convenience) cost as much as a portable USB mechanical HDD or SSD Commented Mar 2 at 16:49
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    +1 He should buy a backwards compatible USB v3 anyway - because he will have access to USB v3 ports in the future for sure. Commented Mar 3 at 6:56
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If you insist on using a USB-to-SATA adapter that apparently resembles this:

USB-to-SATA adapter

Then you need to acquire a SATA (data/control) extension cable to connect the SATA drive to just the data/control connector of the USB-to-SATA adapter.

SATA data/control extension cable SATA (data/control) extension cable

The SATA (data/control) extension cable has a standard female connector for the drive, and a male connector for the USB-to-SATA adapter. (You will probably have to modify the male SATA connector a little on one side to fit the USB adapter.)
You would/could leave the power connector of the USB-to-SATA adapter empty since the drive apparently has an alternate power source.

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    The end result is having two ground references for the same drive: one on the power connector, the other on the data connector. I'm really not sure this is a good idea. Commented Mar 3 at 14:37
  • @jcaron - No, you're overthinking this. Such a setup is electrically no different than the adapters suggested in Keltari's answer that use a separate/external power supply. Yet you're not warning of any ground "problem" for that setup; why not? By your (incorrect) reasoning you're essentially claiming that nothing (self-powered) can be interconnected without opto-isolators! How did anybody get RS232 connections to work with a plethora of device connections??? FWIW a device can keep power ground and signal ground "separate". Commented Mar 3 at 23:11
  • @sawdust, RS-232 has occasional issues with ground loops. More recent interconnection standards use techniques such as isolating transformers or, yes, optoisolators, and avoid having shared grounds. But that only applies to interconnections, and SATA isn't designed for interconnection. Commented Mar 4 at 3:45
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You MUST NEVER attempt to implement the hacks you just mentioned - unless you are ready to literally destroy everything you touch: computers, cables, hard-drives etc.

Considering the way you asked the question, I can conclude that you have neither the knowledge, nor the tools, to actually implement such a task successfully.

The only solution in your case is what @Keltari already answered: buy a good adapter / cable / enclosure which serves your purpose. While you might end up buying some under-quality product which does not work, the risk of actually destroying all the electronics around you is relatively close to zero. Worst case: you need to buy another adapter / cable / enclosure - which hopefully works.

Consider the cost of the cable / adapter/ enclosure you buy from some shop VS. the cost of anything around you that might get destroyed.

Do you know what is probably the most expensive? The data you have on those hard-drives / computers - which you will most likely never get back, if they get destroyed. Even though it was not my fault (except for not making backups), I lost a lot of personal data - and the feeling of losing that is far from pleasant.

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