SFM Time and Date Stamp Change Copying Between Volumes Locally

• Microsoft Windows NT Server version 4.0

SYMPTOMS

When copying folders and files from one volume to another volume using a Macintosh, the time and date stamps of the folder and files will change to the date and time of the copy. This should not occur when doing a copy as the data of the file has not changed.

This problem does not occur when copying files from Macintosh-accessible volumes over the network. The problem only occurs when copying files and folders on volumes residing on the same server.

CAUSE

The problem was caused by Services for Macintosh (SFM) having multiple data streams open on a file. Each stream has its own last modified time, and SFM had only changed one of the stream times. Because NTFS stores a last modified time on a per-file basis, not per-stream basis, the time that was written to the file was not always the one that SFM had set.

This has been addressed by closing all of the data streams except one, and then setting the time on that one stream, resulting in the time and date being set to the last modified time, which will be the same as the original file being copied from.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT version 4.0. A supported fix is now available, but has not been fully regression-tested and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft recommends that you wait for the next Service Pack that contains this fix. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for more information.