Hi there.  Welcome to the site.

Hooking up an NES is pretty easy.  There are two basic cords.  One for power and one that hooks up to the television.

The power one is pretty easy.  It looks like a big black power box.  It plugs into a wall outlet.  The other end plugs into the NES.  It looks like a little circle with a hole in the middle and plugs into the back of the NES.

The other plug is the one that goes to the television.  For this we have two options.  1.) RF switch (the grey box that hooks into the cable input of your television) or 2.) Audio/Video plugs (yellow/white cords).  If you lost the RF switch, you can easily find some Audio/Video plugs at any store now days.  VCRs, DVD players, etc, they all use the same basic Audio/Video cords.

If using the RF switch, just screw the end that looks like a cable television line into the cable input on your television, then plug the cable television input into the other side of the RF switch.  This enables you to keep it hooked up and watch television when it's off.  Then just plug the long skinny cord coming out of the RF switch into the back of the NES.  It's the plug that has a little piece sticking out, like a headphone jack.  When using this option, the television must be on either channel 3 or 4, depending on which setting you chose on the back of your NES.

If you use an audio/video cable, you just plug one end of the yellow/white cable into the side of your NES and the other end into the yellow/white cable on your television (these are sometimes located in the front and other times in the back.)  If your television doesn't have them, you'll have to hook it up through your DVD player/VCR and that's a bit more challenging.  For this option your telelvision must be in video or input mode.  You can normally find a button that says Video or Input on your television remote.

I hope this helps.  I don't have a link to a manual, so I can't help you in that department, but I could go home and take pictures of my manual when I get home from work if you aren't in any hurry.

Good luck!

okkkkkkkkkkkkk

I hooked it up with the audio/video cable, and then plugged it in.

It's getting power, but nothing happens other than a green blank screen that flashes on and off.  The power switch also flashes on and off.

I think that was the reason we stopped using it years ago, because it wouldn't work anymore.

It's too bad too, because I have Dr. Mario (my personal favourite), Super Mario Brothers 3, Tetris.  My all time favourite was Castlevania, and I would love to be able to get a hold of a system that works and find that game again!

Oh well, I'll see if my husband can figure it out when he gets home from work.

Thanks for your help!

Ok, for all you Nintendoites, this is gonna be a stupid question, lol, but what is a "cart"?

DUH ME!      

Thanks, I'll try that first.

Thank you!