iPod is not working after being formatted and restored.

This isn't the first time this has happened to my iPod classic. In a span of about 5 months, I've visited the Genius Bar, and one has been replaced under warranty. Now, the newly replaced one has suffered the same things that the old iPod has experienced. One day, as I was syncing new music, iTunes suddenly froze and had to abort the sync, making me eject the iPod without the sync completing. So, iTunes deleted all of my data (music, photos, videos, etc.). Now, each time I plugged in my iPod following that, iTunes had always frozen, and did not let me access the Devices tab and restore my iPod. Then, having a PC, I formatted it to its default settings, seeing that my computer recognized the iPod and iTunes did not. A pop-up box came up saying if I wanted to fix the problem on the iPod, and I prompted to do so. It completed, and it said my iPod was fully functional. Soon after, it was recognized by iTunes again, and said that it had corrupted files and needed to be restored, seeing that the iPod was under the Devices tab once again. I did so, the restoration was completed, and iTunes said that once after the iPod restarted, it would appear once again under the Devices tab. But, however, it did not appear, after leaving it plugged in for about 5 minutes. iTunes froze again, and now the process begins all over again.

I have fully updated my iTunes, and I am using an HP Pavillion Notebook, under Windows 7.

I need help. I don't want to go back to make a reservation at the Genius Bar since the iPod is no longer under warranty, and perhaps I can fix it on my own. Will they be able to fix it under no charge? What should I do?