How to make a usb adapter for a hard drive. Connecting a hard drive via USB, step-by-step instructions. Worth paying attention

In the era of computer technology, the speed of development of ports for communication of the latter is also not slowing down. Another thing is that end users have no need for such a race. Before they had time to buy one device, it was no longer suitable. Today we will deal with sata-usb adapters.

• What you need
• Instructions
• Adviсe
• Worth paying attention

What you need

1. Converter chip;
2. Printed circuit board;
3. Soldering Station;
4. Programmer.

Instructions

In order not to bore busy visitors, we’ll say right away that it is much easier and cheaper to go to the nearest computer store, pay the equivalent of a couple of American dollars and get a device that is known to work, spending up to an hour of your time on it.

The following article is for people who cannot tolerate slippery beliefs, those who require proof, or who are simply inquisitive individuals.

1. You should start by getting a converter chip. Since the usb/sata operating protocols are fundamentally different, there is no way to “solder this conductor here, and this one here, and everything will work.” In this case, signal recoding is required, which can only be done by a chip designed specifically for the task of usb to sata recoding. The figure shows one of the varieties of such chips.

2. Now you will need a PCB. This is the “plate” on which the elements are attached. Considering that the board must have a completely custom layout for your device, it is impossible to buy one. How to make the board itself is a topic worthy of 10 more articles and equipment worth a tidy sum (if there is such a thing, great, you're in luck).

3. To solder the chip onto the board and organize the wiring, you will need a soldering station.

4. Finally, if you are a magician, and you managed to complete all the previous instructions, your magic will continue to be needed. After receiving the finished board, you will need a programmer - a device designed specifically for your board in order to program it specifically for your specific needs.

If you have completed all the steps and are bored, can you try making a sata ide and vga to tulip adapter yourself? We read, we learn, we try - we write about the results.

The cost of producing a device with your own hands, not taking into account all the equipment, will exceed the store price tag by 30-200 times. Is it worth it?

Clearly.

Worth paying attention

You will have to perform each step of this instruction 15 times, since the work involved is microscopic, and a stray speck of dust will negate all the work done. Perhaps, if you have nothing to occupy your inquisitive mind, you should make something simpler, for example, a homemade robot?

How to make a sata usb adapter with your own hands2.90 out of 50 based on 29 voters. Thank you for the article - like it. A simple click, and the author is very pleased.

How to make a sata ide adapter. Do it yourself

The hard drive is responsible for storing information on your personal computer. Progress, as we know, cannot stand still, so its speed and reliability are constantly improving. The change of generations also entails a change of interfaces. Today we’ll talk about sata ide adapters.

• What you need
• Instructions
• Adviсe
• Worth paying attention

What you need

Instructions

Let's not hide the fact that Sata connectors are a development of ide connections; the latest standard, however, is correctly called ATA. After the Sata interface appeared on the market, ATA was renamed PATA. As you may know, the bus on which ide runs boasts an operating frequency of 33MHz. If we return to the sata interface, the operation of its bus is determined by a frequency of 1.5 GHz. The difference, you see, is significant.

This immediately dismisses the possibility of the concept of “adapter”, because it is impossible to passively connect two devices operating at different frequencies - for this they use a special device called a converter. Its task is to convert the incoming signal of one protocol into another, understandable for the second device

1. Let us clearly show in the figure what a standard converter adapter for ide and sata consists of.

2. As you can see, the front part is responsible for connecting the ide cable, the rear is for sata. The microcircuit in the center of the board is the controller responsible for converting the incoming signal into the desired output signal. You may also notice the power connector - it is needed for the crystal oscillator (the shiny “bathtub”) and the controller.

3. Do-it-yourself work does not stand up to criticism after finding out the cost of the device in the store. The proof below should completely discourage you from wasting a lot of your time on a fairly easily accessible and cheap device.

The price of $4-$15 is an excellent indicator.

Also find out if you can make an adapter from vga to tulip and sata usb with your own hands.

Remember that any electronics production at home cannot boast of proper safety. You will have no one to complain to if your hard drive and controllers on the motherboard burn out due to the connection of a foreign device.

If you smell something fried, check your CPU temperature.

Worth paying attention

You can clearly see another representative here.

How to make a sata ide adapter. Do it yourself3.00 out of 50 based on 10 voters. Thank you for the article - like it. A simple click, and the author is very pleased.

DIY Sata cable

Greetings to you friends, readers and visitors of my blog. In this article I will talk about sata cable. As you know, all computer technology manufacturers have long switched to sata power supply.

This article will describe all the nuances of creating a sata cable, or also called a sata adapter, with your own hands. And so let's begin the process.

Sata cable or sata adapter

First, we need a non-working PC power supply. And you need to pull out the longest sata cable from the power supply.

The longest cable is desirable, but if this is not available, of course a short one is also possible.

In most cases, it happens that some other connector is connected to the sata cable. You can leave it on and remove it if you don’t need it or if for some reason it’s in the way.

In my case, two wires on the additional connector were cut off and in order to get rid of the unnecessary Molex connector I had to disassemble the sata adapter.

Disassembling Sata cable

This connector is very easy to disassemble. All the wires on the sat are on plastic clips that need to be lifted with the tip of a pair of scissors.

Without letting go, pull the wire back; without force and without damage, the wire is carefully removed from the connector.

To cut off the excess wires from the Molex, I use a tool in the form of wire cutters from the women's manicure set. You can also use small electrical wire cutters.

Once all the excess wires are cut off, insert the wires into place. Be careful when removing wires, do not remove them all at once, otherwise you will get confused.

Remove one wire, cut off the excess and insert it back. And we clean the cut ends of the wires for soldering.

Molex disassembly

We will connect the sata cable to our computer power supply via a molex connector

To do this you will have to disassemble the molex connector itself. We take the free Molex connector on the power supply and disassemble it. The lugs on the wires in Molex have tabs or tabs,

which keep them in the connector itself. To remove the four wires we need to find these tabs and bend them inside the tip. To find this ear, use a bright flashlight.

If the ear is not located, use a thin screwdriver or scissors around the tip

Once all the wires are removed, you need to solder the cleaned ends of the sata cable wires. Solder each wire by color. If for some reason you were unable to sing, you can do the following. We take the wires of the sata cable, clean their ends by about 1.5 cm and screw them onto the tip of the molex and twist them so that they do not slip.

As we said above, the tips of the Molex wires are held on the ears in the connector and therefore, before putting the wires in place, you need to bend the eye on each wire

We assemble the molex connector and connect sata power. All that remains is to check the sata adapter. In my case, everything works to this day.

How to quickly make a sata cable

There is another option to make a sata adapter. To do this, take a sata cable as usual, clean the ends by about 1.5 cm, twist the ends of the wires so that

Attention, this method is not safe since at any time the wire can jump out of the plug and short-circuit.

Do not use ordinary glues, otherwise it will be very difficult to disassemble the connector.

For what reason was the article written?

I once encountered cases where my power supply did not have enough sata cable for power due to hard drives.

It would be an option to transfer the cable from one hard drive or go to the store and buy a sata adapter.

But since I like to create things with my own hands, I decided to make this cable myself. And step by step the process went along the flow.

life-pc.ru

You need to connect an external HDD 2.5 x 500 GB to the laptop. /hdd:

sata esata hdd sandbox

You need to connect an external HDD 2.5 x 500 GB to the laptop. It is not advisable to shell out money to buy an adapter, but something made by yourself always gives a + to your mood when using it)

Here is the hard drive itself with a SATA connector

The 5V USB power connector seems to work, but is it possible?

And the most difficult thing is how to connect the part through which information is transmitted to the laptop? There is a SATA adapter

I thought about cutting and soldering the eSATA input and connecting it to the laptop, but again the question arises: is this possible? I rummaged through the net, some write what is possible, some write what is not. If there is such a possibility, what wires go where? and are there other ways? Maybe someone can post a simple diagram? More details

Expand

joyreactor.cc

Make a sata usb adapter with your own hands photo



You can make an external hard drive yourself using regular SATA 2.5 or SATA 3.5 drives + a special cable or an external enclosure for the HDD.

Let me explain for those who don’t know:

SATA 3.5 are regular hard drives that are used in your computer.

SATA 2.5 is a smaller version of the hard drive, used in laptops.

If you purchase a simple USB-SATA adapter cable in the store, any hard drive can be used as an external one, connecting it to any computer.

The method described above can be used, for example, to recover data, check disks for serviceability, or use them as a removable hard drive. The last option is not entirely convenient. Since the external device must also have a beautiful case.

Let's go to the store. We buy a case for an external hard drive and plug SATA 2.5 into it.

For example, I purchased a case for 300 rubles that allows operation at USB 3.0 speeds and inserted a 160 GB hard drive from an old laptop into it.

What happened in the end is clearly visible in the photos.

Alexander Borisov, Samara

Especially for the site.

The note outlines in an accessible form simple steps for adapting a USB-to-SATA converter to a form suitable for use using available tools.

Preamble

One day, for some (still unclear) reason, one of the onboard SATA nipples on a self-assembled NAS on miniITX (also an AoE server for diskless clients) failed, and since it was in the evening (and even on a long weekend ) then this imposed certain restrictions on the availability of the solution (although you can fly like a bullet to a convenience store, but laziness, as you know, is the engine of savvy minds).

So, the task is this: connect a SATA screw to a miniITX system in the absence of free SATA.

Part I

Having quickly carried out an audit of the junk around the computer, we discovered the following adapter, which had been gathering dust for many years without use, because it was ordered at the dawn of the popularity of foreign online stores:

As it turned out, the board is not just a USB-to-SATA converter, but is intended for devices such as laptop DVD drives that have a mating connector on board slimSATA(features an additional non-standard power supply). Thus, it was not possible to connect the adapter to ordinary SATA devices and it was thrown into a dark corner of the box for a long time.

So, the adapter contains a slimSATA connector, which includes a standard SATA 7pin female connector (as on connecting cables):

Even if you remove an additional non-standard slimSATA power connector from the board, when inserted into the HDD, the adapter will block access to the HDD power connector (SATA 15pin). There is only one way out - a SATA 7pin connector extension, for which we carefully cut off one of the ends of the standard SATA cable:

Now you can completely remove the slimSATA connector from the adapter board and solder the end of the SATA cable (without mixing up the RX - TX differential pairs!):

To impart mechanical strength to the joint between the cable and the board, it was decided to use PVC electrical tape (I abandoned the original idea of ​​filling it with silicone sealant - it is unknown how “non-conductive” it is at 1.5 GHz):

Now let's move on to USB: since we need a replacement for internal SATA, a two-meter skein from USB-A to USB-B inside the case will obviously be superfluous. We get rid of USB-B - unsolder a piece of the board with connectors and electrolytes (they are only needed when powering a USB DVD drive).

We will connect the adapter to the internal USB connector on the motherboard. Why do we crimp/solder (for 480Mbit/s it is better to solder) the contacts of the PLS-4 connector (it is more convenient, of course, PLD-10, so that it covers the entire comb at once, but only PLS-4 is present in the household):

After checking the pinout of the comb on the motherboard and the pins of the USB converter chip SPIF225A, we assemble:

So, after spending some time searching for the necessary pinouts, we quickly built this type of adapter, which allowed us to pick up a fallen HDD without rebooting and, as a result, thanks to its dimensions and getting rid of atavisms, it fit quite harmoniously into the interior of NASa:

Part II

After solving the problems with the NAS and its upgrade, the itching craving for perfectionism prompted me to modify the adapter. Why were the necessary connectors ordered: SATA 7pin male SMD& . We mark the seat for the SATA connector, we do it in such a way that the holes for the holder pins do not go through the signal tracks on the back side of the board (as they say - try it on seven times, cut one drill):

We strip the copper and solder the holder pins on the back side of the board:

The pitch of the pins of the footprint on the board and the SATA connector is the same, as a result we get a neatly sealed connector:

Let's deal with the USB part. We mark and prepare a place on the board for landing miniUSB-B:

We solder the connector, showing virtuosity when working with a 0.65mm pitch of the miniUSB-B connector:

Some explanations are needed here, so here is the sequence of actions with miniUSB-B:

1. The GND contact, so as not to get in the way (the material of the legs is fragile - the leg of the first connector broke off when bent), bend it up and solder it to the body - then solder the body to the GND of the board;
2. The ID pin is not used, so we simply pull it out of the connector with tweezers;
3. Now it’s a little freer - there are three pins left - they need to be carefully moved apart with tweezers so that there is more space for maneuvering the soldering iron;
4. We solder small extension conductors to the D- and Vbus pins, and slightly raise the inputs themselves so that they do not short-circuit to the board after installation;
5. We leave pin D+ “as is” - physically, during installation, it falls on the corresponding polygon on the board;
6. Now you can mount the connector on the board - grab the housing diagonally, then carefully deal with D- and Vbus.

Practice is the criterion of truth, so we check the correctness of the connections - with real inclusion:

The second version of the adapter turned out to be much more aesthetically pleasing:

Small touch

Everything is fine. Both functionality and aesthetics, but lacking zest. Having looked through the documentation for the USB-to-SATA bridge SPIF225A, she was found: " pin 36 - HDD Activity LED output". Great:

We unsolder the 10K resistor (PullUp to suppress interference on the TriState-pin?) and solder in a chain of series-connected R and LED. A resistor with a value of hundreds of Ohms (I took 1 kOhm), an LED cathode to pin 36 of the microcircuit (determined by testing or documentation):

Bottom line

Using the example of adapting a USB-to-SATA converter, a method for quick modification using a minimum of available materials was shown (quickly restoring the functionality of diskless clients), and also demonstrated an approach to a more thoughtful and elegant solution.

The production of hard drives does not stand still. Technologies are actively developing: writing and reading speeds are increasing, service life is increasing, new standards and form factors are appearing, which is why many old devices are becoming incompatible with modern computers. Using IDE SATA adapters, you can make even an old machine work with new drives.

Differences between SATA and IDE

IDE (ATA) is a parallel interface for connecting storage devices or optical drives to the motherboard. Old standard from the 1990s. IDE technology uses a 40-pin connector to connect to the motherboard and a separate 4-pin power supply. Currently an almost obsolete class. The exception is old equipment, which is still in use for unknown reasons.

SATA - serial information exchange interface. Now used in all new devices. It has a number of advantages over the old system.

Main advantages of SATA:

• high speed of reading/writing information;
• increased storage capacity;
• ability to connect devices without restarting the system.

There is also a more recent variety - eSATA. The same SATA, but guarantees stable contact throughout the entire operating time. Applicable for external HDDs.

Why do you need an adapter?

There are several problems that can make you want to purchase an IDE SATA adapter. For example, you have an old 80 GB IDE hard drive at home, and you suddenly need to “pull” a photo out of it. It will not work to connect it to a new computer with SATA connectors.

1. There was suddenly not enough memory on the computer, and I had an IDE hard drive of the required size at hand, which at first glance was useless.
2. The situation can be the opposite: without upgrading IDE interfaces, you want to get more additional memory or restore files.

All situations have one solution - use a SATA/IDE or IDE SATA adapter. It is capable of converting data flow from one system to another, thus blurring the boundaries between different standards. The complexity of the application is nothing more than using an adapter for microSD cards.

How to choose?

The first step is to decide which adapter you need. There are as many as five options:

• IDE/SATA.
• SATA/IDE.
• IDE USB.
• SATA USB.
• IDE SATA USB.

The first two points are suitable for indoor installation. They will be useful if you want to place one or more hard drives or SSDs of different standards in a computer case. Usually these adapters do not even have a housing and are not protected in any way. They look like a regular board, where it is intuitively clear where and what to connect.

An important parameter of an adapter from IDE to SATA is the speed of reading and transferring information. In the case of a USB adapter, this may be version 2.0 or 3.0. The latter allows you to process information faster, but depends on the version of the computer ports, as well as on the capabilities of the hard drive itself.

IDE SATA with USB output

In addition to adapters for switching between IDE SATA standards, you can find IDE SATA USB adapters on the shelves. This device allows you to connect any hard drive directly to the USB port, regardless of the standard. So, it is allowed to use ordinary ones as a large flash drive. This is most useful for laptops or tablets.

There are both universal (SATA IDE adapter on one board, connecting several media of the same or different types at once) and separate (SATA or IDE only) adapters. The choice depends on your specific needs and price. An important parameter when choosing will be the presence of a built-in or additional power supply. Without it, the adapter will cost a little less, but will be less functional. It is possible to use the central power supply of the computer, but this is not always convenient, and you will also have to unscrew the cover every time.

Nutrition

IDE series drives are powered by a regular Molex connector with 12v and 5v pins. It is available on all power supplies.

SATA drives require connections for 12v, 5v and 3.3v boards. To do this, you can find a regular 15-pin SATA IDE power adapter with a Molex connector. The problem is that standard Molex does not have a 3.3v wire, which means it is not able to power a certain board block. This feature was taken into account by disk manufacturers and, to some extent, resolved.

Connected via a drive powered by a Molex/Sata adapter, it will work adequately on all machines, but not all will be able to support hot-plugging technology (removing or attaching to the system during operation). Most modern power supplies have a separate output - a SATA connector, which is not Molex and includes 3.3v power. One way or another, modern SATA devices do not require a 3.3v voltage to operate.

Adapter or new drive?

There is no clear answer to this question. It all depends on your preferences and budget. Nowadays, memory prices have dropped significantly, but they are still not encouraging in some respects. Perhaps a more rational solution would be to purchase a new drive or docking station, which will allow you to quickly connect hard drives of different formats like a flash drive.

It is worth considering that buying a new hard drive may entail an upgrade of the entire system, while installing an adapter does not oblige you to anything.

Do it yourself

Most useful electronic devices can be assembled for just a few dollars with your own hands, without much electronics knowledge, but an IDE SATA adapter hardly falls into the category of easily reproducible devices. Ultimately, most likely, much more time and money will be spent than if you purchased a ready-made adapter, although it is easy to find many working diagrams on the Internet. But “technomonsters” should like this task.

If you are going to purchase accessories for computer repair, then a SATA USB adapter is the first thing you need to pay attention to. Such a device allows communication between the two most common interfaces. The SATA standard is used on almost all internal drives of personal computers and laptops. Any modern PC is equipped with USB ports.

What can this adapter be used for? This is exactly the tool you will need in case of hard drive failure. If things go wrong with the HDD, there is a high chance that the computer will become unbootable. In this case, you will have to replace the disk, but the information that was stored on the previous drive will be lost.

If the HDD is partially damaged, this does not mean that all files on it are lost forever. By using a USB to SATA adapter, you will likely be able to recover most of your data. Even if the disk does not initialize, there are many free programs that will allow you to scan partitions and detect any information that can be recovered.

Hardware failure is not the only reason to use an adapter. For example, a user may want to upgrade to a larger and faster SSD drive. Using the adapter, you will be able to transfer all the old data to the new disk yourself, without turning to specialists for help. In addition, HDDs have become incredibly cheap. Any user who regularly updates their computer usually has at least 1 drive with a capacity of more than 500 GB. With this simple adapter you can turn your HDD into an external drive to access your old files.

Anker USB 3 to SATA Converter

Not all SATA USB devices are created equal. Some use an outdated standard that negatively impacts throughput. Others may not be compatible with newer drive types. There are varieties of adapters that stand out from the rest. First of all, you should pay attention to Anker USB 3 to SATA Converter Adapter Cable.

Studying Anker products, one can come to the conclusion that the company has no shortage of components and peripherals for computers. Judging by numerous reviews, users rate everything from chargers to cables or adapters very highly. You may not have seen the products of this company in local retail outlets, but you can easily find them in online stores.

Anker's USB to SATA adapter is a simple device that gets the job done. The adapter is equipped with only the most necessary equipment, and there are no unnecessary components. The developers have done everything possible to ensure that the device copes perfectly with the task assigned to it. The USB SATA adapter is a black rectangular box. This allows you to place it on a flat surface, preventing the drive from detaching during use.

There are 2 cables that can be connected to the back of the device: USB 3 for data transfer and an optional power cord for use with high-power drives. The cables are reliable and durable, making this adapter useful even if the distance between the computer and the SATA 2 device is short (causing the cables to be bent). Thanks to its impeccable design, the device will look great in an office or digital repair shop.

Adapter capabilities from Anker

Unlike some other adapters on the market, Anker comes with a hardware SATA 3 controller. If the device relies on software to convert the signals, this can lead to performance and compatibility issues. Luckily, the Anker hardware controller used is standard and has been thoroughly tested with a variety of devices. This means that almost any computer or drive that can be physically connected to this adapter will work. Thanks to the built-in power adapter, the device supports both 2.5- and 3.5-inch drives.

The USB 3 port is only capable of delivering a relatively small amount of power. This is enough to power compact 2.5-inch drives and SSD drives. But 3.5-inch devices will require a little more power, and a power adapter will help in such a situation. In terms of compatibility, you can use hard drives, SSDs, Blu-Ray drives, DVD recorders and combo drives. The adapter works with almost all operating systems from Microsoft, from Windows 98 to Windows 10. Mac OS is also supported. Theoretically, there is no reason to think that a SATA to USB adapter will refuse to work with Linux, but this system is not officially supported.

Thanks to the USB 3 interface, data transfer occurs according to an accelerated procedure. The theoretical limit is 5 Gbps, but this is quite difficult to achieve in practice. When using an SSD, read speeds are typically around 350 Mbps and write speeds are around 250 Mbps. Record data transfer rates can only be achieved if you use the fastest SSDs available on the market. In cases with regular PC hard drives, the maximum speed is 120 Mbps for reading and 100 Mbps for writing. In this case, the reduction in USB throughput is not due to the adapter, but to outdated HDD technology.

There are not many additional functions on this adapter, because simplicity is its main advantage. The operating system does not recognize it as an adapter, but simply sees a standard external drive via USB. This means that all built-in backup software will work without interruption. You can use any data recovery program or create images without any special drivers or settings. Due to the lack of drivers, the SATA USB adapter will operate in safe mode, making it ideal for diagnostics and repairs.

Inateck USB 3 to IDE/SATA Converter

The Inateck Universal USB 3 to IDE/SATA Converter was created by a popular peripheral device manufacturer that develops not only consumer, but also professional devices. Many of Inatek's products offer advanced functionality, while its prices are comparable to its competitors.

Despite the large number of options, the adapter is compatible with all types of operating systems and drives via USB. The only major difference between the adapter and other similar devices is its support for IDE drives. Such drives have long gone out of fashion, but they are still used by some users. This connection standard is used for PCs, laptops, CD and DVD drives, as well as devices that read floppy disks.

Many adapters are only compatible with small IDE drives because they don't have a power connection. But in this case, thanks to a special power cable, you can easily use not only 3.5-inch, but also 5.25-inch drives. The adapter works with OSX, as well as operating systems from Microsoft, from Windows XP to Windows 10.

SATA (English: Serial ATA)- serial interface for data exchange with information storage devices. SATA is a development of the parallel interface, which after the advent of SATA was renamed PATA (Parallel ATA). - data cable connector. Hard drive data cable connector -

Description SATA

SATA uses a 7-pin connector instead of PATA's 40-pin connector. The SATA cable has a smaller area, due to which the resistance to air blowing through the computer components is reduced, and wiring inside the system unit is simplified.

Due to its shape, the SATA cable is more resistant to multiple connections. The SATA power cord is also designed to accommodate multiple connections. The SATA power connector supplies 3 supply voltages: +12 V, +5 V and +3.3 V; however, modern devices can operate without +3.3 V, which makes it possible to use a passive adapter from a standard IDE to SATA power connector. A number of SATA devices come with two power connectors: SATA and Molex.

The SATA standard abandoned the traditional PATA connection of two devices per cable; each device is assigned a separate cable, which eliminates the problem of the impossibility of simultaneous operation of devices located on the same cable (and the delays that arise from this), reduces possible problems during assembly (there is no problem of conflict between Slave/Master devices for SATA), eliminates the possibility of errors when using non-terminated PATA- loops.

The SATA standard supports the command queuing function (NCQ, starting with SATA Revision 2.x).

The SATA standard does not provide for hot-swapping of the active device (used by the Operating System) (up to SATA Revision 3.x), additionally connected drives must be disconnected gradually - power, cable, and connected in the reverse order - cable, power.

SATA connectors

SATA devices use two connectors: 7-pin (data bus connection) and 15-pin (power connection). The SATA standard provides the ability to use a standard 4-pin Molex connector instead of a 15-pin power connector. Using both types of power connectors at the same time may damage the device.

The SATA interface has two data transfer channels, from controller to device and from device to controller. LVDS technology is used for signal transmission; the wires of each pair are shielded twisted pairs.

There is also a 13-pin combined SATA connector used in servers, mobile and portable devices for slim CD/DVD drives. Devices are connected using a SATA Slimline ALL-in-One Cable. It consists of a combined connector of a 7-pin connector for connecting the data bus and a 6-pin connector for connecting the device’s power supply. In addition, to connect to these devices, servers use a special adapter.

Using http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA

The most interesting comments on the colors of the SATA power connector cable:

RU2012:"Adapters are available to convert a 4-pin Molex connector to a SATA power connector. However, since 4-pin Molex connectors do not provide 3.3 V, these adapters only provide 5 V and 12 V power and leave the 3.3 V lines disabled. This does not allow the use of such adapters with drives that require 3.3 V power - orange wire.

Recognizing this, hard drive manufacturers have largely left support for the 3.3V orange power cable option in their storage devices - power lines are not used in most devices.

HOWEVER, WITHOUT 3.3V POWER (orange wire), the SATA DEVICE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HOT PLUG THE DISK..." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

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