The problem is that your app is using DAO 3.5 and should be using the DAO version 3.6 to work with Access 2000.

You can use Access 2000 to develop a 97 database that will run on a system with Access 97, but the compatibility does not work the other way.

I am not sure, but I think the DLL files are named MSJET36.DLL, MSJTER36.DLL, and so forth in DAO 3.6.