Is the erasure prevention tab missing from a commercial or previously recorded cassette? It would leave a little (about 1/8" square) hole in the spine edge of the cassette shell. That tab is there to prevent accidental erasure by allowing a small sensor lever to drop in and mechanically disable the recording mechanism. Compare a commercial cassette with a brand new blank one. You can place a piece of adhesive tape on the casette to allow recording, but take care to NOT cover more than the first 1/8" of the opening if it is larger as the recorder also senses tape type by the length of the hole molded into the cassette. Word to the wise - don't scrimp on the tape if the recording matters to you. Spend a bit extra for better tapes. Store the tapes 'played', avoid fast forwarding and rewinding unless you'll be playing them through to wrap the tape uniformly before storing it INSIDE its tape box. Read the other warnings that come with the media. No heat, moisture, dust, blah-blah.
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Is the erasure prevention tab missing from a commercial or previously recorded cassette? It would leave a little (about 1/8" square) hole in the spine edge of the cassette shell. That tab is there to prevent accidental erasure by allowing a small sensor lever to drop in and mechanically disable the recording mechanism. Compare a commercial cassette with a brand new blank one. You can place a piece of adhesive tape on the casette to allow recording, but take care to NOT cover more than the first 1/8" of the opening if it is larger as the recorder also senses tape type by the length of the hole molded into the cassette.
Word to the wise - don't scrimp on the tape if the recording matters to you. Spend a bit extra for better tapes. Store the tapes 'played', avoid fast forwarding and rewinding unless you'll be playing them through to wrap the tape uniformly before storing it INSIDE its tape box. Read the other warnings that come with the media. No heat, moisture, dust, blah-blah.