HELP!! my computer crashed and i need help.

Question

my computer crashed about a month ago (on about the 12th of june 2008) and i had to buy another hardrive and absolutely nothing was saved. i lost every thing on it, including my entire itunes library. i have 181 songs and one 37 minuet video on my 80g ipod classic and i want to put some more songs on it. the trouble is when ever i try to sync the computer and the ipod, a box comes up saying that an ipod can only be synced with one itunes library and the only way to get the songs i want on to the ipod is to erase them all off the ipod. all the songs on my ipod are off cd's and i still have them but, i had to rename all the song once they were on the computer and it took for ever. is the only way to put the songs on my ipod to go through the process of copying all the cd's or is there another way?

Answer 1

Copy from iPod to PC
It is important not to allow your iPod to sync with an empty library. If it is set to synchronise automatically you will get a message saying your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to sync – it is important to press cancel as syncing with an empty library erases all music from your iPod.
You can also prevent auto sync by holding down shift & ctrl as you plug in your iPod and keeping the keys held down until the iPod appears in iTunes.
Once you are connected, you need to set your iPod to manage music manually.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61148
If you have an iPod with iTunes Store purchases on it, you can use it to copy your purchases to other authorized computers.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=iTunesWin/7.3/en/2586win.html
However this is not allowed for other music.
This MacMuse tip tells you how to copy music from your iPod using Windows Explorer, but it is a bit fiddly:
http://discussions.apple.com/messageview.jspa?messageID=797432
Otherwise you can use third party software to manage the transfer, there are a variety of programs out there, some free and some that will copy ratings and counts as well as the music files. Here is a selection, check them out and see what suits you.
http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/home/
http://www.floola.com/modules/wiwimod/index.php?page=WiwiHome
http://www.ipodsoft.com/site/pmwiki.php?n=igadget.Homepage
http://www.copytrans.net/
For a more complete list see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparisonof_iPodmanagers
There is a useful background article on copying from your iPod here:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/