My hard drive died. Can I plug my ipod into the new computer and transfer my files or will they be wiped out?

My computer hard drive fried on Friday. They are not able to retrieve the data. Have i lost everything that was not a download?

Can i plug in my iPod into the new computer (once I install iTunes and authorize the computer) and move my files to the new system from the iPod, or will my iPod be wiped out?

I believe I need to set up manual update, rather than automatic to prevent this, but other than that, I am a bit lost.

Thank you.