Epson 386SX - Manual (Page 234)

In addition to destroying all the data on the hard disk,
formatting removes any partitions defined on the disk by
SELECT or FDISK and the logical formatting performed by
SELECT or FORMAT. After you physically format a new or
used hard disk (using option 1 or 2 of the Hard Disk Format
Menu), you need to install MS-DOS. Follow the instructions in
your MS-DOS Installation Guide. The installation process
automatically partitions and formats the hard disk to prepare it
for use.
Choosing the Type of Format
Follow these steps to display the formatting options:
1. Insert the Reference diskette in drive A.
2. Turn on or reset the computer. The computer automatically
loads MS-DOS and displays the Operation Menu.
3. Press 2 to highlight
Format hard disk
and press
Enter. The Hard Disk Format Menu appears on the screen:
HARD DISK FORMAT MENU
1 - Format
2 - Destructive surface analysis
3 - Non-destructive surface analysis
0 - Exit
D-2 Physically Formatting a Hard Disk