My vcr keeps making a rumming sound when I turn it on. It sound like a gear is stuck. I can't get it to eject the tape. It doesn't play the tape either. It seems to be stuck between gears. It's a tv vcr combo panasonic.

Sandra, August 2004

I have a little bit of info that might be helpful to someone out there.

I have a Magnavox/Philips 90's vcr and there was a tape in it that would not eject. It would not do anything. When I turned it on it would make a sound like it was starting up (whirring sound) then it would just turn off. I read lots of sites to see what to do and found one that told how to manually eject the tape. I was looking around in the VCR to see if I could find the worm drive the site was talking about. I noticed there was a belt drive that seemed to be running things so I tried to turn it. When the vcr was on the motor and belt would turn feely but when it was off it wouldn't turn. I unplugged the vcr and tried to turn it (just a little turn towards the front of the vcr by putting my finger on top of the pully and rolling towards the front) and it turned and made a little click noise down where the belt was attached below so I plugged it in again and the tape ejected! It works fine now.

Short version: Try unplugging the vcr and turning the belt drive a little (both ways) and plug it in again and see if it works.

Hope this helps someone.

Lora, July 2005

I came looking for the same answer and found a comprehensive site with info about repairing VCR's. Here's the page dedicated to your question...

http://www.fixer.com/no-eject.html

Jon, August 2004