ok how can i get songs back into my ipod with itunes 7

alright well heres the deal ever since i updated my itunes its been saying my ipod is corrupted and wouldnt update it...EVER...so i tried pluggin it n unpluggin it bout 5-9 times to c if it wud work again..i gave up and just restored it...and now it gives me an "the contents of this ipod cannot b read" and it says to restore it..but the ipod does not show up in the preferences tabs or in the source list...so i dont kno how 2 restore it...HOW CAN I GET MY IPOD WORKING AGAIN?!?!?!?!?!?!? plz help =(