Computer crashed, lost everything...

So a few days ago my laptop crashed and I lost everything, including my iTunes.
All my music is just on my iPod. Fixed my computer and now I installed iTunes again but don't how to get the music from my iPod to the iTunes without losing it. I don't want to lose all that music that I payed for or imported from CDs. Can anyone help me?

1). Connect your iPod to your computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod.
2). When your iPod appears in the iTunes source list change the update setting to manual, that will let you continue to use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
3). Once you are connected and your iPod is safely in manual mode there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. iTunes will only let you copy your purchases directly from an iPod to the computer, you'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
For everything else (including purchases) there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
A selection of iPod to iTunes utilities:
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
SharePod Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod2PC Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
YamiPod Mac and Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
iPodRip Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide
4). Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync.
5). I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

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The computer which was synced to my iPod Touch crashed and Dell technician reformatted backup drive therefore literally losing EVERYTHING. I tried to sync and organize my iPod to the new computer, but learned that all of my music, books, movies, and other downloads will be lost by syncing to the new computer. How is this possible??? I purchased these items from various sources including Amazon, Audio Books, Barnes & Noble, as well as the Apple Store. Please assist me, I don't want to lose what I have left. I want to add new songs to existing playlists and basically do some cleanup and organizing. How do I save & organize my iPod and yet establish it to our new computer? Thank You in advance!

Thanks for the advice! However, I DID back up everything on an external drive. A Dell technician (computer under warranty) had me plug in my external drive to retrieve some data to restore my computer. Before I could stop him (he worked on it remotely from India) he reformatted my backup drive and erased over 120 GB of stored data. We are still in discussion with Dell on retrieving my lost data. *To cougarspeed09:* I am sure I can go to some of the various websites and retrieve purchased material, but I really didn't want to expend all that time in doing so. It took me a great deal of time to compile all my iPod's items, so I am looking for a more reasonable solution. I don't understand why I can't transfer everything to my new computer, reorganize it and then place back on the iPod Touch. So far, everything I've found is that it works the other way around and the syncing takes place between the new computer and the iPod. Thus, everything on the iPod is erased.

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hi i recently had to reset my computer and all my information was lost including my ipod software. now i have no clue how to get my ipod up and running without deleting the songs on my ipod.i need step by step instructions on how to do this i dont know were to begin. someone please help me. do i have to reinstall itunes from the website again? HELP!

Download the latest iTunes and reinstall it, you'll get it here: iTunes
There are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the files from your iPod. This is just a selection.
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
iPodAgent Windows Only
Senuti Mac Only
Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these and pick one you are happy that you understand and can use. They are generally quite straightforward.
There is also a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive through Windows posted in this thread: iPod to iTunes
You may already be using the iPod in manual update mode. However when you connect, if you are getting a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, click *No*. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list. Change the update setting in Preferences>iPod to "manually manage songs and playlists" Managing Your Songs Manually
You can also use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on Windows, hold down the Shift + Ctrl keys (on a Mac you hold down the Option and Command (⌥ and ⌘) keys). This will stop the iPod from auto-syncing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 3 and 30 seconds depending on your computer. Then go to Preferences>iPod and check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" box.
Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.
Another way is to connect your iPod and before it starts to sync, click the little X on the right hand side of the display beside the "Do Not Disconnect" message. The display is the little window to the right of the iTunes control buttons: iPod Interface
Or you could look at the method described in this link: How to keep iTunes from automatically updating your iPod
Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.
Go with whichever method you feel most comfortable. Remember what I said above, if you are getting a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, click *No*.

My computer crashed and everything had to be reinstalled. I lost everything

My computer crashed and everything had to be reinstalled. I lost everything from the hard drive. I can access my website on-line, but when I go to iWeb none of my documents are there. I have tried dragging the site pages that are stored on iDisk, but it doesn't seem to be working for me.
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richyrev,
You may not want to here this but if you lost the data on your computer and don't have a backup, there is no easy way to recreate your site.
I just got through explaining this to another user yesterday. You can find that thread here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1883561&tstart=60
In a nut shell iWeb uses a domain file to store all your site pages. This file is really just a special directory called a package in the Mac World. All your site info is stored in this package in a cryptic way that probably won't make a lot of sense to you. Once your site is rendered and put on your hosted site it is stored differently with basic web hierarchy for the files. The bottom line is iWeb can only deal with a domain package not the finished web files. If you don't have a copy of your domain package file then you will need to recreate your site using your files from your web site. But you will have to do it manually.
You didn't say specifically that you were using mobile me (.mac) but if you are then you can grab your old site off your idisk and use those to help guide you into recreating your site. But iWeb won't read those file for you. It doesn't read html files in, only out. You'll have to literally recreate each page using your old site as a guide.
There was a link on the other thread that gave a little more detail about this. I realize it's a painful lesson, but nothing beats taking the time to do a backup. I noticed (according to your sig) you are still running OS X 10.4 so you won't have time machine, but backup is a good program as well.
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Thanks for the link Eric - I guess I should have been more clear on my response. I also sync to two different computers, but for two different things - one is for photos, and the other is for everything else. I did not know, however, that you could actually sync music from two different computers....
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848
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Checked the drivers to make sure they are upt to date.
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Reset the ipod.
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Placed into disk mode when fully charged and then allowed the battery to drain completely. Then reconnected ipod (in disk mode)and it still is not recognised and locks up itunes.
At this point I dont really want to part with another $300 odd dollars for a new one.

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Thank you for using Apple Support Communities!
It sounds like you would like to download your iTunes Store purchases again to your desktop computer.
No worries there, you can re download them free of charge from the iTunes Store with this article:
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http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12283
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