I bought a new 2TB Seagate external hard drive and tried to reformat it as exFAT with quick formatting disabled. The process failed with "The volume label is not valid (12)" and "Unable to load data. Please try again." After ejecting and reconnecting the drive, Windows shows it as RAW and reports that it cannot format drive E:. Disk Management sometimes detects it briefly and then the drive disappears, accompanied by a clicking sound. Is there anything I can try, or is the drive defective?
3 Answers
If the drive appears reliably in Disk Management, you can delete its existing volume, create a new Simple Volume, and format it as exFAT. However, a drive that vanishes from Disk Management and makes repeated clicking noises is a different situation—it usually points to a hardware, power, or connection problem rather than a formatting issue.
A brand-new external drive should not disappear during detection or make persistent clicking sounds. Those symptoms strongly suggest a failing drive or insufficient power. Formatting tools will not fix a mechanical problem, so replacement is the safest option rather than continuing to work with it.
Try a different USB port, preferably one directly on the back of the computer rather than a front-panel port or hub. You can also test another USB cable and computer, if available. If it still disconnects and clicks, stop trying to format it and return or replace it while it’s new.
It is connected by USB, but the drive still seems unreliable and may be defective.
It currently appears and disappears from Disk Management, and the clicking continues, so I’m worried the drive itself may be faulty.