Music Files Deleted After Hard Disk Failure and First Sync After Hard Disk

Hi,
I recently had a hard disk failure and lost all of the data on my hard drive. I replaced the hard drive and reinstalled all of the software including iTunes. I am running Windows XP Home. The first time I plugged my iPod Nano into my computer after the hard drive replacement it synced to iTunes and since iTunes had no music files it deleted all of the music files on my Nano. How do I get them back and why on earth would iTunes do such a stupid thing??? My Nano contained many songs that I bought from iTunes and I want to get them back. I have found some third party software that will undelete the deleted files but it costs $69. I don't feel that I should have to pay to correct a defective feature in iTunes. Does Apple have an undelete utility? Can I redownload the songs that I purchased from iTunes?

*The first time I plugged my iPod Nano into my computer after the hard drive replacement it synced to iTunes*
When you connected did you get a message that your iPod was linked to another library, and then press Erase and Sync? When an iPod is set to update automatically and you connect to a computer with an empty iTunes and accept the message above it will erase the originals completely (as you have discovered). Also as you've seen, none of the recovery programs are particularly cheap so you have to decide if in your particular circumstances it's worth it to get your songs back. It may be if you have a lot of purchased tracks which you will have to pay to download again. If they came primarily from your CDs then it's most likely not as you can re-rip them.
*Can I redownload the songs that I purchased from iTunes?*
If you didn't make a back-up of your purchases to restore from then I'm sorry to say that the policy on lost purchases is that you have to pay to download them again:
"Once a Product is purchased and you receive the Product, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage the Product, and Apple shall be without liability to you in the event of any loss, destruction, or damage." iTunes Store: Purchased content can be downloaded only once
You could try contacting the iTunes Music Store Customer Service and you might be able to persuade them to sanction a second free download. There have been occasional reports in the iTunes forum of this happening, however just be aware that they are not under any obligation to do so. If you click on any of the links on this page you'll find a space at the bottom to email your query: iTMS Customer Service

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