iPod touch New iPod Touch trouble syncing and music controls

Just got my iPod Touch 3G. Am having problems syncing it. It's not an issue with iTunes, my iPod Classic (5G) syncs perfectly and when I had a Touch (1G) (it was stolen, am still heartbroken about it) I had no problem.

But with this new one, it crashes iTunes and when I try to sync it I get a message that it doesn't have the right software or something like that. I can drag and drop music and videos into it but that took forever. I can't get any of my contacts, calendar, or photos into the touch.

I also can't get the "scrubber" (?) bar when I play music. I seem to remember you have to do something to get this bar when I had my 1G but I can't figure out how to get it.

Finally, when I turn it on, instead of the day and date in English, it occasionally pops up in German. This isn't a big deal - it seems to be back to English now - but I'm a little puzzled.

Thanks for any advice.

Edit: I am working on a MacBook (OS 10.4.11), iTunes 9.0. My iTunes library is on an external drive so I can't unplug it. Haven't tried to unplug my laptop cooler but will try that next.

Tried it

Thanks. Tried wiping it but that didn't solve the problem. Haven't tried using a different cable though. Assumed the one that came with it would work. I'll try another one.

edit: Talked to Apple tech support and he recommended updating iTunes and then updating the iPod touch software. After that, sync music first, then one by one sync the other components (videos, photos, etc).