I inherited three Catalyst 2900 XL switches (2924) in an office move. One of them appears to work fine, but the other two give me wanky CLI prompts when I try to configure them via the console.

One switch freezes when trying to copy config.text from flash: to system: ... the other switch doesn't let me get to the configuration setup -- it just slams right past it whether I answer Y or N to the prompt.

So are these two switches boat anchors at this point? Or does the software in flash memory need to be refreshed? And if so, can I do that without having to purchase a Cisco support contract?

It might just be cheaper and easier for me to go out and buy some unmanaged 24-port switches for a few hundred bucks, but I'd like some knowledgeable opinion before I do that.

Thanks!