My iPod 80 gig classic will not sync as it can't be found; when that isn't the issue, I get an error number 1303, I believe. I'm using a new computer as my old one crashed; all songs are on an external hard drive.

I'm using an iPod 80 gig Classic. My old computer screen cracked, so I'm loading my iPod to a new computer. I've made the changes to use this computer, connected my external hard drive that has a copy of my music, and began the tedious process of syncing the songs again. I got about 1300 songs synced; I went to lunch; when I came back and began adding more songs, it suddenly had errors. One error was that my iPod couldn't be copied to a duplicate file. After fighting that a while, I reset it to the factory settings--starting over again. This time, it loaded 440 songs and then gave me a 1303, I believe, error. I followed steps to let my iPod be scanned and fixed. Now, I'm told my iPod cannot be found. How can I fix this? Is there a simple fix other than spending $400 + on another one?