Hello I have a few questions and I need some help with my iTunes and iPod

Question

Hello iTunes people.
I have a little problem with my iTunes. I actually almost know nothing about iTunes really. But I have had a 80 gig ipod .. ummm I think it's a iPod classic maybe. A long time ago I just downloaded iTunes. I think one of my tech friends already had put the program onto my PC so I did not even have to download it. Anyways I put my life's collection of mp3's onto iTunes and then syncs it with my iPod and it worked great. Here is my problem. I just recently bought a MONSTER PC. I have lovingly named it " ED209 " I downloaded iTunes for it and I have the most up to date version.8.1.1 is the most current version correct? Ok well here is my problem. What I want to do is I want to put everything that is currently on my iPod ONTO the iTunes library. I DO NOT want to import anything from the library or playlist or whatever you call it ONTO the iPod because there is nothing in the library. Now this is were its gets weird and possibly silly. A person I was chatting with on Facebook sort of made fun of me because she was like " Dude! Just push " Sync " But the reason I am paranoid is because THIS is the message I get....
" The iPod " Aaron's iPod " is synced with another iTunes library. Do you want to erase this ipod and sync with this iTunes library? "
HOLY COW!! That girl on Facebook was making fun of me but READ THAT. That exactly says ERASE the "iPod" and Sync with THIS library " It does not say put what is ON the iPod into THIS Library. It says it the other way around. Clear as day it says it will ERASE the " Ipod " it does not say " Fill the library with whats on your iPod "
Do I all of a sudden not understand English or something???? I know how to freaking read and from what it says is sounds a 100 percent like " we will ERASE youe iPod and put everything from this playist or library onto your iPiod" But there is NOTHING in my library? Am I mentally challenged or what?
I hope someone can help me here and I have another request. Could someone just tell me all the cool things I can do with iTunes and my iPod? I am trying to read the help files and the FAQ and whatever else Apple provides you with but it has SO MUCH crap that looks usless. I find myself reading a whole paragraph about some simple little section of s section of a section of a feature! Know what I mean. Someone give me the long and short of the neat things I can do with this stuff. I have windows Vista with a wicked computer that has like 6 gigs of ram and m iPod is a 80 GB Classic
help !!
PROTEUS

Answer 1

*What I want to do is I want to put everything that is currently on my iPod ONTO the iTunes library.*
1). Connect your iPod to your computer. When you get the 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: Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
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 (music from CDs, other downloads and including iTunes 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