I RECORDED OFF OF TV ON A BRAND NEW 8 HOUR VHS TAPE ABOUT A YEAR AGO AND NEVER PLAYED IT SINCE... TODAY I PUT THE TAPE IN AND THE VCR SHUTS DOWN... WHEN I TURN IT BACK ON, THE DISPLAY SHOWS "EJECT T"... AFTER I ORIGINALLY DID THE RECORDING, I BROKE OFF THE TAB TO PREVENT ACCIDENTAL ERASURE... THE TAPE HAS NOT BEEN DROPPED OR DAMAGED IN ANY WAY... I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEM RECORDING THE 8 EPISODES ON THERE FOR 8 CONSECUTIVE WEEKS... I HAVE BEEN USING THE SAME BRAND TAPE (MAXELL) FOR A FEW YEARS NOW... WHAT'S WRONG AND WHAT CAN I DO TO SALVAGE THE TAPE?
Electronics - Others - Maxell - T-160 PLUS
Answers & Comments
Well, it's always good to know the exact cause. Your post may help others. I deal in media issues all the time in the data processing world. Though not always the cause, it is unwise to at least examine the media when the hardware won't load it, and try others to certify the hardware functionality.
If your tape isn't actually broken why don't you try loading it and immediately fast-forwarding it past the defect? It should load fine a couple of feet into the tape. You may miss the beginning of your program but it won't be a total loss.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Maybe a local VCR repair shop can unlock the reels of the cassette and manually move the tape forward for you and then you could possibly arrange to copy it. I'd go straight to DVD so there would be no further degradation with viewing.