Hard drive crash.. what now?

The hard drive containing all my iTunes info has crashed and can't be recovered. Meantime I've got an iPhone filled with 158 apps that I can't sync up anymore because as soon as I do it keeps asking if I want to remove all 158 apps.

Right now I can't even sync up my calendar or add movies or music to the iPhone cause as soon as I do I'll lose all my apps.

Is there any solution to this? I don't want to download all 158 apps again because iTunes has a habit of charging you twice for apps you've already owned.

Sorry, but without a backup for that hard drive that crashed you're going to have to download all those apps again. If the iTunes store wants to charge you for the same apps you've already paid for, contact customer service and explain. They should have a record of what you paid for.

Regards.

And suggest getting a 1TB external HDD connected by Firewire 800 and do a weekly backup with SuperDuper, Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner. There are only two types of computer users, according to noted Mac author David Pogue:-

"Those that have lost all their information and those that are about too...."

Tough luck Schmange.