I take the tape out, open that little door to look at the magnetic tape, thinking maybe the beginning of the tape is mangled or something... But there isn't any magnetic tape there. Shoot. It must have broken the last time I rewound.

Well, actually, it's okay... The tape is old, I've watched it hundreds of times, and I have absolutely no problem buying a new copy. Except for the fact that I was really looking forward to watching the movie right now.

So, of course I take the tape case apart and fix it. And boy, those tape manufacturers don't make it easy to take VCR tapes apart, either. Besides the tiny screws, and the tape sealing the sides which says it's some kind of federal offense to break into this tape... It's also got a non-removable pin keeping the two sides of the tape case together.

bah. Now, I never recommend brute force -- things tend to break, you know. But that's what I had to resort to this time, sad to say. The tape came apart with a ping and little parts went flying every which way. heh. I gather up the parts, use scotch tape to re-attach the magnetic tape to it's reel and then played with little plastic bits and tiny springs until I figured out how it all worked. Guessed where the magnetic tape was supposed to run and screwed it all back together.

Popped it in the VCR and breathed a sigh of relief when it played perfectly.

yay. I am a genius. ;)