Cisco Switching/Routing :: Unable To Mange 500 Catalyst Switch

I have inhereted a network in a school that is using a Cisco Catalyst 500 series switch. Previously, it appears that this switch was never managed (just plugged in and using it's default configuration). I am trying to change that and be able to control the switch using the Network Assistant or just the web-based device manager. I understand that you cannot perform the initial configuration with anything past Windows XP, because the broadcast flag setting past XP causes an issue where the IP address of the management computer is assigned but not the default gateway. Despite this, I am still unable to connect to the switch for management purposes. Here is a list of the steps I have taken, all of which have been unsuccessful:
 
1) I tried using a computer running Windows XP. The same issue occurred. It was assigned an IP address from the switch but did not get a default gateway. It was unable to access what should have been the default IP of the switch; 169.254.0.1

2) I tried it in Windows Vista by editing the registry to turn broadcasting off. It still did not work.

3) I tried it in Windows 7. Still no luck.

4) In all 3 operating systems, I tried using the "Advanced" setting in the TCP/IP configuration to add a default gateway of 169.254.0.1 to no avail.
 
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