I want to take a photo on my Nikon SLR but with an old lense?

Have a Nikon SLR. Dad recently bought an old nikon film camera, and the lens's fit on my slr, BUT, it says the lens is not connected so i can't actually take a photo. What settings do i have to put the camera on so i can take a photo?

You will have to manually set the focus and aperture. Use aperture priority mode or manual mode.

Some lenses you can control the aperture via the camera body - some you need to turn the aperture ring on the lens itself.

If the lens has a locking aperture ring then set the aperture to the minimum (usually f16 or f220 and lock it (there will be a little switch there). The aperture setting can then be controlled via the camera body.

If the lens doesn't have a locking aperture ring, then you turn the aperture ring on the lens itself to set aperture.

With older lenses you may not have autofocus or metering (depends on lens & camera body) - there's a useful chart here which tells you which Nikon lenses mount, focus, meter etc on which body;
http://www.bythom.com/lensacronyms.htm

In most cases, sticking the camera on manual (exposure) and manual (focus) should fix any problems. If you have no metering, you might have to buy a light meter, or use another camera with a light meter to meter the scene.

Many Nikon DSLRs (notably the D3000 and 5000 series) don't allow metering with a lens that doesn't have a chip.

Use your existing 18-55mm on manual to get correct exposure, then change lenses and set the aperture on the MF lens before shooting (you'll have already set the shutter speed).

Otherwise, it's a hand-held meter or the sunny 16 rule.

You will have to either use a hand held meter, or guess/guestimate exposure values, using the camera in M (full manual) mode.

If you want to get metering, you need a better camera. The D200, D300/300S, D7000, D600, D700, D800, D1-series, D2-series, D3-series, and D4 will all give metering.

Manual mode. The light meter most probably won't work too so you're all alone in that one.