The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 17/07/18 09:41, tim... wrote:
because laptops don't have any way of doing this

I was responding to:

"unless you're willing to fish around the inside of your PC for a spare
SATA power connector."

Thats not a description of a laptop

The OP has not indicated whether they have a laptop or not.

Obviously the unpowered USB adaptor is not an option for a 3.5" drive if
they have a laptop - either a full, externally powered, USB case, or a
powered HDD dock would be needed.

Even in a desktop PC, I'd suggest it's cleaner to do that than having to
open up the case to tap into the PSU wiring. And some desktops won't have
a spare connector of the right type anyway.

Theo