"REMOVE THE CASSETTE" displays when I put in a tape.

Same problem appears on another thread at fixya.com
http://www.fixya.com/support/t260350-tape_acceptance

villagidit posted a solution there that worked for me.

The same problem exists apparently on the ZR200 which is where villagidit found the solution.

Basically all it involves is thumping on the side opposite the display. I tried the thump once with no effect. I gave it two more thumps and the problem went away. Not really a solution. But it was satisfactory for me to be able to get the camcorder working long enough to transfer all my DV video onto DVDR..

Seems something comes loose in these Canon camcorders (presumably a connector of some sort.) There are 10 votes for this solution on the other thread as of 5/19/2008.

Yes, Solution #2 REALLY works!

Here's how I fixed mine:
With the eject cover opened (the cassette magazine should be pushed back in place), I slapped the cover close REALLY hard.
The first about 20 times didn't work for me, so with all my anger towards Canon, I slapped the cover close really, really, really hard on the last try, and what do you know... IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM.
Thank all of you for sharing this accidental discovery. I just saved myself $161 that Canon is asking for this repair. My only hope right now is that this fix lasts...
Hope this will fix your problem too. Good luck everybody.

I have one doing the same thing. I called Cannon and the told me I would have to send it in for service. Now after reading that about 10 other folks having the same issue, I think Cannon has some issue with the ZR100. Of course mine is out of warranty. Everyone should call Cannon and complain.

I have found a solution to this problem - it seems to happen when the tape is about 50 minutes in or so. And certain brands like Sony. I don't know why, but here's how to get around this. First, in future when you are done with a tape, before you take it out, rewind it just a few seconds.

In the mean time for a tape that you are having problems with, you need to manually rewind the tape just a bit. Get a large paper clip and a medium sized regular screwdriver. Take the tape and hold it so that the round spindles spaces are facing you. The little window to see how much tape is left should be on the other side from you.
Hold the tape so that the tape cover is facing up. Between the two spindle spaces is a rectangle opening with a piece sticking up. Unbend the paper clip on one end, and slide that into the rectangle opening, and push down on the plastic button. Hold that down. While holding that down, put the screwdriver into the spindle hole on the right side (the one that goes with the window on the front) and turn the reel clockwise about one full turn.
Now put the tape into the camcorder and it should work just fine.

I can't believe it but, for my Canon HV20 I was getting the same "Remove Cassette" and that humidity was detected. Well, I was about to pack it up and pay the $150 to have it serviced and decided to try one last thing. I set it on its side and gave it a good hard tap. And now it's running perfect. It does have a purdy picture though.

Unbelievable, I thought it was a joke! It took two tries to fix it. I wasn’t sure how hard to tap it. I started with a tap like knocking on a door and was going to keep increasing the force each time until it was fixed. I was not afraid of breaking it because I was going to throw it out if I could not find a solution.

Actually beating the camera on the opposite side of the display works. Have not used camera for two years and was going to throw it away, I thought I would check to see if the problem had been solved and obviously it has. Thanks for the information ZR100 Owner

I had the same problem. Yesterday it worked perfect, today it wont take ANY tapes. Another user recommended "tapping it FIRMLY". Ive been fooling with this damn thing for about an hour with out tapping it at all. I followed his advice and gave it a whack, now its accepting tapes! They must be built in Russia or something...

I had this problem this weekend with an Elura 65, where the camera would not accept a tape. If you inserted a tape, it would beep a few times, the LCD screen would flash "REMOVE CASSETTE TAPE" and then it would spit the tape out. I had the camcorder stored in a ziplock bag in a cool / dry cabinet in our spare bedroom. None of the previous solutions worked for me (clean the heads, take out the batteries, remove power for 20 minutes, remove the memory card, etc).

What worked for me:
I left the main battery in, installed the small memory battery, installed the SD memory card and plugged in the power cord. I left the camera out (close to my computer), which is upstairs in my house- in a 70-75 degree Farenheight environment - for 24hrs. After 24hrs of sitting out and being plugged in to power, I suspect everything came to an ambient temperature and the camera worked fine. (you might try up to 48hrs of being warm)

I suspect that most people's cameras are having this trouble when the internal parts of the camera are not all warmed up so the camera will reject a tape because something is NOT functioning properly when cold.

If you look at the timing of these postings, you will see that most people are posting issues in the cold winter months. I won't buy another Canon Camcorder, but am appeased at it coming back to life long enough for me to download my information to my computer.

If you call the service support for Canon (which I did), they will ask you for your serial number, model, date of purchase, name, email address & mailing address. They will ask you to mial your camera along with the printed information above and detail your problem. It will take 7-10 business days for someone to contact you via email or phone.

Good luck with your camcorders!
cjammin - Cedar Park, Tx

We thumped it!!!!!!!!!!!! it was so aggravating and we were laughing at people but we kept reading and everyone suggested the 'thump'. and then we were unsure of your guys' definition of 'thump' so we just smacked that all on the floor, and next thang ya know..... it worked! camera got turned on! and me and my best frand can watch our videos now! thanks errboday

Same problem with mi but with a Canon XL1 and a Canon XL1s...
i read that a lot of people have trouble with this REMOVE CASSETTE or EJECT CASSETTE... it´s a shame for Canon. it´s not one or two models that come with this problem... amateur camcorders and professional all so.

I will NEVER have another Canon... that´s for shor... :(

SHAME ON YOU CANON

I had the same problem with my camera. I replaced the battery and it worked fine. I think the problem is the battery is overcharged. Once you see that the battery has fully charged, you should un-plug it.

OMG this hasnt workked for 2 yrs i just slapped the opposite side nd it worked on the first try wtf awesome

I thought you all were crazy folks, but I figured that I didn't have anything to lose. I hit it a few times and still had the eject tape issue. I ended up hitting it REALLY hard and it fixed it! Thanks to all you crazy people who thought to beat on your cameras! My issue was in the summer, but it was a rainy day. I'm so thrilled this worked!

Fixed my Canon Zr30mc
Turn on Camera only with power connected.
unplug the power cord
do it few times...
the message " Remove cassette" gone

Pues increiblemente ESA ES LA SOLUCI?N... Unos "toques m?gicos" y zas! la bendita c?mara funcion?.... debe ser como las mujeres: les das un toque m?gico y caminan bien...jajajajaj (en broma)

I found that I had the problem only while using Sony Mini tapes. Others like JVC were working fine. I tried opening a JVC which uses tiny screws and exchanging its tape with the defective Sony tape cartridge. Sony cartridges are lightly glued which meant breaking it apart. I thought maybe it was the brakes not working letting it go during play back. It wasn't it. With everything removed, free wheeling tape, it still rejected the modified tape setup. Put a used JVC back in - no problems. Sadly I had tapped a wedding using the Sony tape and I wanted to get it off on to my PC. A woman in Indiana who transfers video to CD on ebay, suggested I try rewinding the tape manually and retry it. So far - no rejection, we'll see. I do believe the problem is from one of the many micro switches they use to tell the internal computer when it is safe, meaning everything is working fine before proceeding. The side thumping that seems to work for some could be that switch making full contact. I found this to be the major factor in CD players, to where I had to modify the switch or even jumper it to get a CD player to work. I hope I don't have this problem with the newer camcorders using just memory. However I will never buy Canon again, shame on them.

I have a Canon MV5i camcorder that developed this problem. I sent it to a Canon service, they charged me a fortune to replace the entire tape drive mechanism. The camera worked for 6 months and then got the REMOVE TAPE message again. I bought a second MC5i on Ebay and it developed EXACTLTY the same problem! SHame on Cannon, MV5i costed over $1400 as new!

OMG! I just beat my Canon ZR100 to death and it now will accept the tape. I love the internet. Problem solved. Thanks guys. Too funny.

Worked for me as well. I can't explain hot it got fixed, but basically i followed the direction to thump on the side of the screen and that fixed it! :)

I just had the same problem, It would load a tape then tell me to "remove the cassete" in big red bold letters.. Then i started trying other tapes, then it eventually wouldnt even retract any more.. I was getting anoyed and started looking into service repair centers.. Not sure if the repair cost would even be worth it or just buy a new one.. So i just smacked 3 hard times on the opposite side of the display screen.. Works like a charm. Sweet!!!!

Problem solved by heating it up by charging and keeping the tspe door open to dry out.

After reviewing the manual in the troubleshooting section it mentions that if there's a radical climate change the camera can build condensation and therefore give you the error message of "remove the cassette". I just got back from the Dominican Republic and now i'm in NY where it is cold. Then again this could happen if i'm shooting outside then head indoors. Anyway I'm leaving the camera on with the tape compartment open to see if this will somehow dry the moisture and then I'll try to playback a tape. I think the blow dryer idea might work, but im at the office and don't want to take the camera home. Wish me luck people!

I've had this problem about 4 or 5 times. I've tried like 100s of times with different tapes and it's always that "remove the cassette" problem... but, whenever this happens, I let my camera rest for some weeks, sometimes months, and don't touch it at all. After some time, it's like the problem never occured, and it works fine again.

It's so annoying, I know. I hate my stupid cam.

I had the same problem. Found a solution on another fixya post. I couldn't believe this worked.

>> Turn camera on side - thump on side opposite the screen. <<

I tried doing this once with my camcorder with no effect. I tried twice more, and it fixed the problem.

While the camera is on, take out the battery. 

I tried everything to fix this (condesation detected) tokk it apart, It was bone dry,. but since I bought it used with this problem it was obviosly tat it was dropped causing this issue , finaly pluged it in to warm it up , and gave it a ggod rap on the side , and whatever was loose from first drop fell back in place , works like a charm , im a beleiver ,.. thanks for who posted this , your my hero...

This is the reponse of Canon on their site: Recommended actions to take when the "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" or "EJECT" message appears The "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" or "EJECT" message may appear (steady or flashing) due to a problem with the camcorder that causes the safety mode to be activated. This may occur: (1) When the camcorder is damaged because: - Condensation droplets have formed inside the camcorder. (For further information about condensation, please refer to "Related Information" at the end of this page); - There has been a failure of an internal camcorder part; - The camcorder has detected sand, water, or some other foreign substance; - There has been impact damage, which can occur when the camcorder is dropped or bumped against a hard surface; - The camcorder has been operated incorrectly (for example, a tape has been forced into the cassette compartment or the cassette compartment was pressed down while the tape was loading; (2) A damaged videocassette, such as dusty or damaged tape, has been used. The following steps should be attempted when either message appears: 1. Remove and reload the videocassette, or use a new videocassette. 2. If condensation forms, the message "CONDENSATION HAS BEEN DETECTED" may appear followed by a "REMOVE THE CASSETTE" message. Also, the condensation-warning icon starts flashing. In this case, remove the videocassette, and leave the cassette compartment open in a dry place. Reload the cassette until the condensation-waning icon stops flashing. Condensation-warning icon For more information about condensation, please refer to the Related Information below. If the "REMOVE THE CASSSETTE" or "EJECT" messages continue, please contact the nearest Canon service center.