IPod Corrupt; iTunes freezing

Hey guys,
I've found myself in quite a pickle! My favorite Apple device and one of my closest companions in life, my iPod Classic, has been corrupted. I can't say I'm entirely sure what did it; but what I do know is that it is, indeed, corrupted.
Now, this normally wouldn't be too big an issue, but this particular situation has me quite puzzled! When iTunes is installed, plugging my iPod into my computer causes both the program and the device to freeze. I can't even browse the iPod's files through Windows Explorer.
The only way out of the freeze is to reboot my computer or physically unplug the iPod. Doing the latter results in iTunes unfreezing and letting me know the iPod is corrupted. From there, I normally would be able to do a restore, but of course I've now removed the iPod!
I uninstalled iTunes so that I'd be able to access the files, and copied all of my music off of my iPod to my computer (unfortunately, I no longer have the music on my computer! It's all on my iPod!), so I'm okay with restoring the thing to factory settings. But that seems to be a difficult thing to accomplish, given the whole freezing ordeal.
My Plan B was to copy the file that I suspect is corrupt -- iTunesDB -- to my computer. I was then going to delete the one on the iPod and hope iTunes was programmed to generate a new default file in the absence of one. If it didn't work, I'd be able to just copy the one on my computer back to the iPod, and things would be back to normal.
However, this, too, seems impossible! I'm unable to copy it, for it freezes halfway through the transfer.
Do any of you guys have suggestions on how I may get this iPod working again? In worst-case scenario, I could take it to the local Apple store, but I'd need to wait a week or two for my friend's car to get fixed. It'd be preferable to be able to recover it here!
Thanks a million,
James

I thought I'd post a solution to this that I thought of after a few days of thinking, just in case this happens to someone else.
The solution involves taking advantage of even more bad programming in iTunes to get it to restore the iPod. This solution will work for you if:
-Your iPod freezes iTunes when you plug it in
-iTunes will unfreeze if you unplug your iPod and let you know that your iPod is messed up.
Here's the solution:
1) Plug your iPod in. iTunes will freeze.
2) Unplug your iPod. iTunes will unfreeze and tell you your iPod is broken. Click "Okay" on this popup, then QUICKLY press "Restore iPod."
iTunes will fail to remove your iPod as being listed, and start the restore process. The first step is downloading the original factory settings from the internet, so wait for this to download. The next step is placing these files on your iPod.
3) As you'd expect you'll get another error when it's time for iTunes to put the files on your iPod. It can't find the thing since you unplugged it!
The next step is time-critical:
4) Plug the iPod in, then click "Okay" on the popup. Continue pressing "Restore iPod" and hitting Okay if your iPod can't be found as quickly as possible. There's a small duration of time where your iTunes detects your iPod but doesn't freeze yet. If you get the timing right, you can have iTunes start restoring your iPod before it gets hung up on a corrupt settings file.
5) Replace your music, and enjoy!

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Message was edited by: 4tna

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Message was edited by: Flemminr

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NOTE: If your music is in more than one place, consolidate it first so it is quick to add back in
or copy and paste the 'iTunes Library.itl' file from music, iTunes (or wherever your itunes directory is) to another temporary location e.g. desktop and open the file once iTunes is reinstalled.
3) If it still doesn't work try it on Linux if you have it... its free, you can use a bootable linux disk instead of creating a new partition on your PC
4) If you don't want to do that and it still doesn't work then go to an apple store, since its in warranty.
If some of it seems obvious or patronising, its because I don't know how knowledgeable you are about this stuff
Message was edited by: ACESUS

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IPod Corrupt; iTunes freezing

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