I recently picked up a used Nexus 5020 from a local hardware recycler and the switch worked, and booted fine. I did not have the switch hooked up to the network when I did this boot, because it was just to see if the switch would get into the firmware and verify that it was working. The next time i booted the switch, it stopped at the Loader> prompt. I figured out how to get it to load the kickstarter just fine, but when it had finished and put me at switch(boot)> i was at a loss. I miss read the help for init and started it. Once it started erasing the bootflash: i knew i had messed up. Having had a cisco lab for a while I knew that the firmware for EOL equipment was not available unless you had a partner account, or a service contract for the device. I contacted the live chat and they directed me to reach out to the point of sale, or try here. The point of sale being a hardware recycler, I knew that they would not access to the firmware.
So my question for everyone here is, am I now stuck with a boat anchor, or is there a method of getting the firmware?