Question about ISO standards
Question about ISO standards
You can legally use the activation code to download the ISO for a VM, as long as you're not violating any licensing terms or software agreements.
Legal, though not perfectly—it should function (provided it hasn’t been used before on a Windows 7 system)—and currently Microsoft seems indifferent to Windows 7.
You're encountering an issue where using an unused product key for Win 7 results in a "pre-installed" error. This usually means the key isn't valid or hasn't been properly applied. To resolve this, you can try reinstalling the product key or using a different method to activate the ISO.
Does it indicate the key is OEM? You can use a browser add-on on the Microsoft site to trick it into thinking you're not using a Windows PC, which would provide an ISO instead of Media Creation Tool links. However, if you still have the original Win7 installer DVD and a DVD drive, the simplest method is to create your own ISO.