Media for I have two cisco 2500s - now what?

I have two cisco 2500s - now what?

In preparation to try to attain my CCNA certification I will try to set up a little lab at home. I obtained two cisco 2500s - just the boxes (not even power cords) I was wondering where I can get help to set them up ? a website? what kind of connectors do I need?

First I need to check that they are in working order and that they were not diposed of because they are faulty - I need to know how to run diagnostics to verify that the check out OK (for that I need to know how to connect to the console port, what cable I need and how to remove any passwords that may prevent me from getting into them.

Then I want to connect them back to back to simulate one local and one remote and play around with them. Can anybody help?

Thanks.