I am unable to eject a VHS tape from my combination Phillips 12" TV/VCR. The grandkids used it at Christmas and didn't have any trouble but when I was putting movies away and was missing one I found it in the VCR. I turned the unit on and tried to eject it. The TV/VCR shuts off after a few seconds without ejecting the tape and it looks like the tape is in an eject position.

Cindy, January 2005

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

Cindy, I know this might be a little late, but better than not at all. I had the same trouble with my TV/VCR combo. Sometimes you can reset it. If it is stuck in the auto/off mode from VCR then you might have to do this quick! 1st turn the TV on, 2nd pull the plug from the wall to turn TV off! DON"T TURN OFF WITH BUTTON-OR RESET WONT WORK!!!! You must pull plug from wall after turning it on. OK' I know I said it twice. "Wait about 30-60seconds, and put plug back in wall. Don't touch any buttons before you put plug in. VCR should auto-eject after you plug in? If not, then turn TV on and it should eject.

NOW! If that does not work, then you most likely have a broken belt on one of the motor/gear sets inside. There are two of them in there, and they are very difficult to get to. Mine were broken, and I took it upon myself to try and fix, because (I'm a guy-and that's what guys do)< act before thinking? I wish I had never opened the dang thing now, it was a real pain in the rear to fix. Yes I fixed it, lot of time, and waiting for parts to arrive. Parts were cheap, but I know why Technicians get so much $$ for fixing them.

Well I hope this helped you a little, unless you know someone who'll fix it cheap! You might as well just go buy another. TV/VCR's are only about $70-$100 now. Cheaper on ebay-if they work.

Good Luck
John

John, May 2005