The PC I synced my iPad to has died.

[Philippe Lemay]

Thankfully, I was running most of my stuff off of an external hard drive, including iTunes and all of it's fluff.

My computer was a Windows XP PC running iTunes 10, the only other computer in the house is an old Mac that's on OS X 10.4, so it can't run anything above iTunes 9. It will probably be a while before I can get my own computer fixed/replaced, so I would like to sync to my sister's comp in the meantime.
I've plugged the drive into the Mac, and it does seem to see it (and the Library stored on it), but I don't know how to open up that Library. The "shift start" that usually allows you to select the Library file you just transfered over doesn't do anything. I'm not sure if it's because Macs use something other than Shift (all the last times I did it successfully I was on a PC), or if it's some sort of incompatibility between iTunes 9 and 10.

I would REALLY rather not do a complete resetting of my iPad, partly because of all my playlists and contacts and callender schedules, but also because I'm not sure if that would clear all of the Apps and Films and TV shows I've purchased. Any help in resolving this matter would be very appreciated.

[Night Spring]

I think on the Mac it's option+start. If not, try the other command keys.