Image Expert 2000" Error Opening Database & Corel Photo Album 6

We have used Image Expert for many years in our office.  Recently, when we tried to open it, I received the error mesage "Error Opening Database."  The program will not open at all.  After checking the forums, I tried deleting the ixdb.mdb file in the system folder, as suggested.  That did not correct the problem.  I restored the whole program folder from my backup HD and that did not change anything.  I found other database files and tried to use them, and I get the same result.  I need the database since it has the descriptions and keywords of thousands of business images. I cannot uninstall, then reinstall the program since my Dell Installed Programs CD does not include Image Expert for some strange reason. We are using Windows XP Professional.  My External HD backup uses Retrospect 6.5

I know that Image Expert has been phased out or evolved to Jasc and later Corel Photo Album 6.  We bought the upgrade to Photo Album 6, but my staff preferred their familiarity and features of Image Expert so we continued to use it until this disaster.  I can open The Corel Album, but the keywords and descriptions are all missing.  As best as I can tell, it also uses the same database type ixdb.mdb files.  However, I cannot use any one of several ixdb.mdb files to get the keywords, etc. into it either.

If one database file is corrupted, then why cannot I open Image Expert with another file, such as one that is several months earlier than when my problem began?  Why can't I get the database data into the Corel Photo Album 6 either?  Could there be a registry error?

I sure wish that I had known that the database file, that should be backed up at the same time as backing up the images, was in a subfolder of the program, and not in Documents and Setting which I regularly back-up.

What can I do now?  Thanks