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Is the following correct?
eSATA is the same as SATA, except that the cable plug has a slightly different shape, but as far as the electrical signal goes, it's the exact same thing. In theory, if you had a powered-on HDD enclosure with an eSATA port and a cable with an eSATA plug on one end and a SATA plug on the other end, you could connect this device directly to a SATA socket on the motherboard of a powered-on PC and it would work.
(Note: This is theoretical; I don't propose mucking about inside a powered-on PC.)
This is a very good question! – JL. – 2010-11-09T14:09:42.687
I'll be trying a practical setup to confirm this in next couple days. I have a 2.5 disk 'caddy' in a new computer case that has connectors for SATA power and SATA data. I'll be snaking an eSATA to SATA cable from an external port on the computer back into the computer case to reach the SATA data port. While power will come off the PSU. – Rolnik – 2010-11-22T16:14:50.633