As Norman states, you still need Access installed to use an MDE.
There's no way to turn a DB into an executable. Assuming that you want to
allow people who do not have Access installed to use your application, you
have 3 main options:
1) Rewrite your application in a language that can be compiled into an
executable such as VB or VC++ (note that your data will still have to be
kept in an external MDB file)
2) Rewrite your application as a web app
3) Get the Access Developer edition that's appropriate for whatever version
of Access you're using (see
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/developereditionversions.htm for details of
what you need to look for) What this allows you to do is package your
application together with a royalty-free run-time version of Access. Users
who don't have Access installed will be able to install the run-time and use
your application. They will not be able to use the runtime to make design
changes to your application (nor to any other MDB)
Just so you know, Microsoft does not sell previous versions of Access.
One possibility is to check out sites that specialize in old software
products, such as
http://www.emsps.com/oldtools/ or
http://recycledsoftware.com/
Another is to look at someplace like eBay to see whether anyone's trying to
sell their old versions (Note, though, that products purchased this way
aren't always legal...)
You need to purchase the following in order to create an Access 2003 runtime
application:
- Microsoft Access 2003
- Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 (which includes the Access 2003
Developer Extensions)
The ADE is the product that gives you the license to deploy the 2003 runtime
components and you have to have Access 2003 installed in order to install
the ADE.
See
http://msdn.microsoft.com/office/understanding/vsto/default.aspx for
more details, or
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011208861033.aspx