How to fix a VHS tape that wont rewind.

sorry for muddy mic

[@thecatshaver0732]

Thank you for making this video. I'm 21 and I love getting the old VHS tapes of movies I loved or have an interest for. I have a TV has a built-in VCR that my grandmother gave me so I love using it. I just bought paint your wagon and part two was the tape that got messed up

[@JonnyFortino]

Thankyou to everyone who liked this video and was helped by it! this is by far my best video for nice comments and likes. The old tech / tape community is a very polite and nice group!

[@pippi2773]

"I'm not gonna do that again, because it would be a nightmare" "I'm gonna do that". Thanks for the help, wish me luck.

[@JonnyFortino]

well whats the point of a tutorial if I just show you what to do but never actually do it :D

[@dantootill]

Thank you for this video. I had a tape that wouldn't rewind or fast-forward very far, if I played it then the VCR would constantly mis-track. I assumed it was wound too tight, but when I opened it the way you demonstrated I found the little spring was out on the left-hand spool. Reseated it and the tape worked fine, I was able to capture it to MKV.

[@joshuas2716]

Thank you. I am converting a lot of old VHS tapes to digital formats for my parents and this came in quite useful.

[@ananymis939]

this was very informative. thanks. i think i see where i went wrong in my last repair attempt.

[@JonnyFortino]

I'm glad I could help

[@edwardgnos781]

I have learned from this video how to fix broken videos and then put them back together again make sure the screws or in its correct place from this video that I watch it teaches you how to fix your own videos I have almost all of James Bond movies on VHS and all of my videos are all fixed because of this video that teaches you how to fix your videos . I want to note that I have a complish This knowledge from this video thank you . Ed Gnos

[@mopedinthemalverns6661]

I've just fixed 2 James Bond videos from a box set! I took the videos apart after they both made a horrible grinding noise but I couldn't find anything wrong inside... Put them back together and they work perfectly! How can that be? Subscribed.

[@ThiagoLazarino]

I did this but doesn't work for me. Switched case , etc. Some tapes mysteriously works, but many doesn't. It seems the tape itself can't slide though mechanism due mold or moisture.

[@shylover69]

Thanks! I was able to fix the problem!

[@nakazul1]

Thank you for your guide. Now i have a problem wich is very simmar and only to a few tapes. It seems that some tapes get heavy for a VHS player to play and rewind, like on one tape you could hear varios speeds as it was rewinding the tape. Is there a sulotion to that? I different VHS player and the same tapes are always the issues. Its like the need lubrication of some kind. Any suggestions is welcome. Its getting hard to find information. Thnx in advance from Sweden.

[@JonnyFortino]

Peder Tjärnberg well that's a very interesting problem. I had a Walkman that did the same thing and and I would give it a slap and the tape would rewind again. In a vcr that could be many things. If it's a belt drive then I'd recommend poking around and seeing if your belt is loose or as it happens so often with these aging machines it could be turning into a mushy mess as the oils in the belt start to decay. If it's not belt and direct it could be that the motors are going out after years of hard work so you might try replacing them. And another thing is you could check the tapes themselves and see if they have anything in common like if they are long movies then they would have more tape causing more weight to be rewound or if they are made by the same company it could be a higher quality metal tape adding more weight. Or a combination of both. Or very simply it could just be dusty or dirty back in there and not properly lubricated so at the very least give your vcr a good cleaning and lube up anything that moves so that it has a long life ahead of it. I look forward to hearing if anything I said worked

[@nakazul1]

Jonny Fortino Im pretty sure its not the VCRs since i have several (just in case) Thnx for the tips, and im pretty sure its something specific to the tapes. You hear alot of talk about the issues with the VCR but not that much about the tapes them self.

[@JonnyFortino]

Peder Tjärnberg sorry I got hung up on the vcr but the tapes themselves. It could be that over time the tape can "bunch" up in certain places. Not that it's all looped up but could just be too tight on one side or the other causing your problem. My advice is to take one tape as an expirament and just rewind it all the way then fast forward it all the way and do that as many times as you want just over and over and see if it goes from beginning to end the right way

[@anthonyp1889]

My vhs video will not play..the head spins but won wind on..even on ff or fr it just sits their.. Any Ideas.. Tony from Long Eaton Nottinghamshire..

[@timmygross8742]

do you know if you remove the spring on the vhs tape. it will still work fine with out the spring because I have done it

[@BettyConfetti92]

My VHS tape doesn't have screws like that; my screwdriver is doing nothing. What do I do now?

[@clarkelliott5389]

Good info! (Esp. the part about flipping it over after removing the screws and lifting the top up and off!) Thanks!

[@thirteensouls7460]

Thank you!

[@JonnyFortino]

Carin' Poff Bocskay glad I could help :)

[@Robert08010]

THis will be my 67th time taking the cassette apart. Nothing seems to work. I removed those breaks entirely 15 attempts ago but THAT Made No Difference at all.

[@316308]

I have a question, I bought a VHS tape recently. When I play that tape it started in the middle duration of the video, so part of the start until the middle were missing. I re-winded the tape by fully via Player, but when I looked physically - the black tape level were balanced - half on the left and half on the right. I wonder is that a normal behavior or should "all" of the black tape goes on the left after we re-winded it?

[@JonnyFortino]

normally yes you would have all the tape on one side. Could be a problem like in my video with the springs or it could be your vcr. vcr's need attention and love just like tapes and as sad as it is nowdays its getting harder to find parts to work on them.

[@colinmulder6806]

Do you know how to FIX a VHS Tape that has the white part of it's beginning not connected to the black film?

[@JonnyFortino]

So the tape at the very beginning is called leader tape its only there to "pull" the rest of the tape onto the reel. a simple splice should solve your problem and its fairly easy to do. I don't have any splicing tutorials but there are many online. just look up how to splice vhs tape. hope I helped! good luck!

[@noel888]

I was under the impression that it won't rewind or fast forward is due to the vcr's capstan gadget and never the tape itself...interesting. BTW, i persume that you did not check the tape out in the vcr a few times to see how long it would last, if at all?

[@JonnyFortino]

My vcr works fine. I'll be honest that I've never poked around inside it but doing this to my tape fixed it and it rewound all the way again.

[@noel888]

I had what i thought was a similar problem. I have 2 vcr's, so i took that tape that won't rewind and played it with no problem in the other vcr...so I guess, the problem is the vcr itself. Have you a 'how to' to fix that?

[@JonnyFortino]

Anthony vcr's are a whole thing on their own and to be honest I haven't spent much time poking around in them. But if I ever do I'll make a video. In the meantime I suggest looking around youtube because there are a lot of people who know more than me. Good luck :)

[@kingshearer2]

The belt is probably gone/going on your faulty VCR, confirm this for sure by trying another (not precious) tape in it.

[@themanfromvolantis]

Hang on. You said it's a very easy solution. . Then describe it as a nightmare. Then a very difficult challenge. Which is it? I am a ham-fist so I don't want to attempt it if its difficult.

[@carlosgomez3886]

So this problem is with tapes and not the actual VCR?

[@JonnyFortino]

On this occasion yes. At times it can be the VCR it depends on the situation. For instance if you have bad image quality it could be the metal reading heads or it could just be that the tape is old and has been watched so many times the tape is loosing its quality.