I have bought a boxed version of Windows 7 Home Premium (not OEM). I want to install this on new iMac via bootcamp but I also want to use this Bootcamped partition via VMWare Fusion.
VMWare fusion has article about activating bootcamped windows installation.
Does this work setup work for you? Is it ok according to license?
The only mention of "virtual" in the EULA is this section:
d. Use with Virtualization Technologies. Instead of using the software directly on the licensed computer, you may install and use the software within only one virtual (or otherwise emulated) hardware system on the licensed computer. When used in a virtualized environment, content protected by digital rights management technology, BitLocker or any full volume disk drive encryption technology may not be as secure as protected content not in a virtualized environment. You should comply with all domestic and international laws that apply to such protected content.
To me this reads that as long as you are only running one instance of the virtual machine (don't start VMware Fusion twice or something like that) you can switch between your license to use the software in VMware Fusion (as identified by the EULA above) and your license to use the software on a physical machine as often as you want (since it is the same licensed copy you paid for).
If you get stuck, you can send an email to licensing@microsoft.com and see what they say. Note that when I have contacted their licensing support in the past they were pretty clueless about virtualisation except to say that they highly recommend you use Hyper-V over VMware.
