I have no access to the menu screen. I push "menu" on the remote, and the TV screen goes black. Tried new batteries but no change. The remote is working for channel changing and straight recording, but the on-screen programming is gone.

maggie, October 2005

I've had the exact same problem(with the same vcr) for a month or so now. I figured my best bet, short of a repair shop or new vcr, was unplugging it for a minute but I was quite paranoid about never being able to set the clock or timer-records again. This wonderful page gave me confidence to give it a shot, and it worked.

unplug it for a minute and plug it back in.

Geoff, April 2006

i had the same thing. as far as i remember, i just unplugged it and plugged it back in and it worked.. seems to be a fault with the vcr

james, December 2005

I have the same problem with the same VCR. I have not been able to fix. Have replaced all cables to and from TV, VCR, and Cable outlet...still when I press Menu, I get a blank screen. The rest of the VCR works perfectly

Jeremy, November 2005

Is this a UK unit?
If it is, it sounds like you have it connected by Scart and RF leads.

In which case the scart connection is probably loose at either the TV or Video end.

The menu will activate the scart's AV switching and then try to connect to the TV's scart input. If the scart is loose, often either the video or audio connection pins do not make contact, so you end up with either a blank screen or picture with no sound.

Cobweb, October 2005