Can't initialize ext hd

Hello,
I replaced my HD in my Dell Inspiron using Vista, I now wish to reformat old HD to use as external USB device. In 'Disk Mngt.' the drive is listed as drive #1 and unallocated. I've have tried to initialize, but I receive and CRC error. Note HD still has everything from original install. I tried to wipe clean with DBAN (while int laptop), but could not achieve that. Is there a way to clear data to start new? I can not seem to find any solution.