so are you saying if i buy a new DMS i cannot just plug that straight into my phatbox unit and it will work straight away? I need to hack it?
No. If you buy a new DMS, it will work in with your Phatbox without hacking. You may have to update the firmware on it to match your system. You would be wise to hack your box anyway (once you actually get things working). Then, if your DMS should fail again, you can replace it with any notebook drive.
You really should have tried the hack and repair CD on your first DMS, as I suggested several times. Judb is right, if you repartitioned it using any other method, there is no chance to recover it and use it as an original DMS.