Hi all. I picked up as 3500 XL switch today which I found at a thrift store ($4. Why not?) I knew something had to be wrong with it and I was right.
There was a console password so I renamed the config file to something else so that I could get in normally, which I can. However, when I show interfaces, it lists two gigabit ports which I do not see physically and none of the fe ports. There are 16 physical fe ports. When I boot the switch, the lights for all the ports do turn on so there is power to the board. At boot I see the LINK-4-ERROR error. When I search this error, I get articles talking about duplex mismatch, but there aren't even any cables plugged in. When I plug my laptop into a fe port, the activity light on my laptop comes on but not on any of the ports on the switch.
For fun, I opened it up and reseated the only board I could (it has the activity lights for the ports on it). The ports themselves are on the main board.
Not sure if it matters but it came with a console cable (RJ45 to USB) and the USB end gets REALLY hot.
I've been told "It's not worth it" but I'd like to know or get an idea of what went wrong with this switch for my own personal learning and knowledge and may be even fix it. Any help would be appreciated. TIA!
