Actually, if you don’t want to keep the device plugged for ever on the PC, the best option is to buy a device a little bit more expensive (~10€): a SATA to IDE, IDE to SATA Bi-Directional Adapter.

I did buy one from Syba which is great (and efficient): the “SD-ADA50016”.

Notice: I have no issue with it but it is based on the SunplusIT SPIF223A chip which is not reported of the best one. Users complains about very poor performances (as low as 4MB/s) and recommend other models. From my own experience, it’s indeed very slow but it is actually close to Blue-Ray speed 1X (4.5MB/s) with my DVD burner.

Here bellow is the full spec. Notice that it works not only for HDD but also for CD/DVD burners and does not look like a basic piece of plastic that wouldn’t support to be plugged and plugged often. It can really help you to

• access data forgot on an old IDE backup drive, from you brand new PC,
• connect Sata disk on an old machine (e.g. a server you don’t want or may not renovate or extend with a Sata Controller) or
• reuse an expensive DVD Burner in a new machine (although you have great portable ones for less than 30€).

Important: Don’t forget to plug also the power cable (6pin LP4) on the controller or it won’t work 😉

Full spec:

• Unique Bi-directional SATA <–> IDE Converter
• Chipset: Satalink Spif223a
• Supports 3.5-inch SATA and IDE (ATA) Hard Drive
• Supports 5.25-inch SATA and IDE (ATA) Optical Drives
• LED Indicators: Power-On and HDD-Activity
• Ultra Low Power Consumption
• Connectors:
  • IDE (ATA)
  • SATA to Computer (Yellow)
  • SATA to Drive (Black)
  • 4-pin FDD Power Connector
• Two Independent Ultra ATA Channels with 128/256 Bytes Buffer Per Channel
• Driverless Installation
• Serial ATA Interface:
  • Complies with SATA 1.0a Specification
  • Supports SATA Generation 1 with Transfer Rate up to 1.5Gbps (150MB/s)
  • Supports Spread Spectrum in Receiver
  • Supports SATA Power Saving Mode (Partial and Slumber)
• IDE (ATA) Interface:
  • Complies with ATA Specification
  • Complies with Ultra ATA 133 with Transfer Rate Up To 133MB/s
  • Supports PIO Mode o, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
  • Supports MDMA Mode 0, 1, 2
  • Supports Ultra DMA Mode 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
  • Supports Master/Slave/Cable Select Mode by Configuration Switches

Alternatives:

For sure, you can get cheaper generic adapters, for half that price, E.g.: