Error trying to open Access97 mde when newer version installed

[David]

I have a user that has the runtime files for Access97
installed and the full version of a newer version of
Access (any version that is newer causes the problem)
installed. When trying to open an Access97 mde invisibly
to the user in the background and execute a procedure, I
get the following error
"Error in opendatabase (file: Pathname\Access97.mde) Class
not registered. Application will terminate."

I have traced this and determined that the class that the
error occurs on is registered but is a Access97 (runtime
files only) class and the opendatabase procedure is trying
to open the mde using the newer versions classes (Full
Install) etc..

Any ideas in trying to resolve this issue will be greatly
appreciated.