router troubleshooting

I've been trying to get a couple of old routers to work, but they both have the same problem and I don't understand it.

When I connect one to a computer, the computer's auto-configuration ip-address is the same as the gateway ip address (from ipconfig, I'm working with PCs [the ip is 169.254.45.159, by the way]), and I have no way of accessing the router's interface.  The internet and the local network are both inaccessable.  The 'reset' buttons do nothing.

Is anyone familiar with this sort of problem?  Does it indicate a hardware failure?  Or, is this what happens when a router is flashed incorrectly and its firmware is damaged, and if so how can you repair it?

I don't know the history of the routers, so I can give no background information.

That IP-address is what Windows assigns if doesn't receive any DHCP offers. So the DHCP service of your router is not running.

Try to get a manual of your routers online, find out what their default IP-addtesses are and how reset them back to factory defaults.

I see.  That's a great help; thanks! 

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