AFAIC, exe would have nothing to do with Access versions because exe is an executable and is not related to any version of Access databases. Thus it's likely a Windows issue but the message may be misleading. I have never seen the CD, so have to wonder if the sample db's are not just mdb or accdb files that you can open from the cd instead. Note that any cd file is automatically read only, so if you do copy mdb/accdb files to main disk, reset the property.
The more we hear silence, the more we begin to think about our value in this universe.
Paraphrase of Professor Brian Cox.