connecting iPod causing restart

the thread title is probably not that clear, but when ever i connect my 3G 40GB iPod to my powerbook (running 10.3.7), iTunes starts up, my iPod mounts on my desktop, but when iTunes starts to transfer songs, the not-so-famous "gray screen of death" pops up, informing me to restart my computer.

I trashed my iTunes preferences-- yet to no avail. I updated iTunes to 4.7.1-- yet to no avail. I tried bypassing the dock (just plugging the cable into the iPod)-- yet to no avail. This has happened to me 4 times so far and I really want The Life Aquatic soundtrack on my iPod!!

I've seen discussion of this on the Apple boards, but without any real remedies. Can anyone help me before I take this to a genius (which is a hassle)?

Short of booting from the CD, is there any other way to do this? The reason I ask is b/c I don't have the CD with me...

Can I stop iTunes from opening when the iPod is connected?

Nevermind, problem remidied.

I was able to 'force quit' iTunes while it was starting, then i proceeded to verify/repair my iPod disk. strangely enough, each time it says it has been repaired, the next verification shows one error...