Well, the hitting theory still works, tried a few times and it worked fine. It was either him or me...

I was on google looking for answers to my sony dcr-trv110 camcorder issue, it began to beep and show the 31:40 error, the tape deck came up, but wouldnt open so i took the cover off and "made" it open to get my tape out. then it wouldnt retract, so i "forced" it. then i found this page, just my luck. so, i did some mechanical work and i fixed everything but it wont eject the tape now. any suggestions?

This is too funny. I have 9 year old TRV720 with the C:31:40 code and the cassette holder that won't close. I used a hair dryer and my open palm to smack my camcorder........it worked the first time! Thanks for the comments.

Thanks a lot for the hairdryer trick. Thought my Sony TRV 103 was a goner. Am backing up my Hi8 tapes to my PC ASAP. Thanks a bunch, guys !

I have the same error message, but I got my camera to work by taking out the battery and only running on AC power.

Add a TRV315 to the list of Sony Camcorders that have been smacked and pounded back into action. This one has been sitting in the basement for the past 5 years. Thanks folks.

Thanks guys for your help!!! I used the hair dryer and it seemed to have taken out the moisture and I dont get any errors for now :).

Shaking worked for my DC-HCE 39E. Internet has ones again showed how powerful it is. THANKS A LOT GUYS!

thanx for the advice i tapped i beat it and worked

hii, 31:40 means drumm error..pls contact me shaji