No CD can mean a few things, at it's most serious it could mean that the box is not booting correctly - but at it's simplest it could mean the box is booting but doesn't actually have any music on it.
You said you had two partitions incorrectly named - which gives me a concern that the previous owner (?) has wiped the partitions from the disk, and this could be the cause of your problem as any non-PhatNoise or non-PhatHack partitioning tools are likely to start the first partition at byte 0, when it needs to be after the 1st MB (which you seem to already know).
Also, copying the firmware files manually can be a little hit and miss - particularly with new partitions as they often need to be copied over in a specific order.
If you believe the 1st MB to be untouched, my recommendation would be to install my DMS tools (you can find them here
http://forum.phathack.com/index.php/topic,2499.0.html) and to run the 'Create New DMS' process.
Select the appropriate firmware version
Select the option 'Install non-hacked firmware' (my guess is the box is unhacked)
Uncheck the option 'Reflash box' if you know the box has the selected version installed. (Note, the DMS tools will attempt to list the version on the DMS - but this is not necessarily an indication that version has been successfully applied to the box!)
Once the DMS is created (the process will re-create the partitions in the correct place, with the correct names), then use PhatNoise MM to apply a single playlist of music, Save & Eject and then go and try the DMS in the car.
Assuming it fails (I have a feeling it will), then run the 'Boot Check' process available under the DMS Tools. If necessary, put the DMS back in the car (the DMS tools will tell you if this is required). The DMS tools should give you an indication of whether or not the box is successfully booting and if not, what the cause is.
Let us know how it goes, if the boot check happens to succeed then we have further ways of looking into things...
