InCD Date/Time Stamps (Latest Nero)

[Howard Kaikow]

The problem does appear to be due to InCD. I just performed the following experiment on my multiboot PC

The main OS, on J drive, has EMC 7 with Drag2Disk.
The OS on the G drive has Nero 6.x using InCD 4.3.20.1.
I gave up on InCD a long time ago, so I never bothered to install even the latest update for Nero 6 and InCD 4.

1. I booted to the OS on the G drive.
2. Formatted a CD-RW disk.
3. Used Windows Explorer to COPY directory EE from a USB drive to the CD-RW (Q drive).

EE is a directory that has the contents of a ZIP drive(E) from several months ago. Most of the files/directories are still on the ZIP drive, but some have been added, others deleted or modified.

4. Ejected the CD-RW, so the formatting could be completed.
5. Ran the ChangePathTimes program, moving times from E:\ to Q:\EE.

I saw what appears to be the same problem reported by hornblower, who was using a much more recent version of incd.

I then booted to the OS on J that has Drag2Disc.

Ran the ChangePathTimes program, copying from E:\ to Q:\EE.
Worked as expected, indicating that incd is causing the problem.

Others with both InCD and Drag2Disc, or another proper UDF writing program, should be able to reproduce the above results.

It would also be interesting to try to use the built-in Vista UDF.

I do not have Vista, but I would expect ChangePathTimes to work in Vista.

[Howard Kaikow]

Hi Hornblower,

Not sure how you can call his response 'Pathetic'. What Mr. Munz has stated is true.

The 'Standard' is for any copy operation to show the date the file was copied. This is the standard used by Microsoft and many others.

While it's true that Roxio does allow you to keep the original date, it is not the standard.

And while a number of our customers would like to it reflect the original date when they use InCD, there are also a number of customers who want it to reflect the date it was copied.

Nero has always prided itself on following the standard to ensure compatibility and to provide a flow most customers are familiar with and so do not need to relearn. This applies to many areas, not just how InCD functions.

Regards,

Craig

This thread seems to have raised two significant issues:

1. What options are available for cutting/copying files to optical media a preserving the file times.

2, InCD's refusal to set times as directed by the SetFileTime Windows API function.

[hornblower]

Good day Howard
I think I have partly solved my problem and unsolved your problem.
I have been using a combination of Windows Explorer and Total Commander
If I copy 3 folders from hard drive to optical drive using Explorer the folder date is changed to the current date time.
Now I open Total Commander and run ChangePathTimes the result is as follows:
First folder date unchanged
Second and third folder date changed correctly
If I then run ChangePathTimes again all dates are changed correctly
If I only use Windows Explorer throughout then everything works perfectly.
I have been unable to replicate my earlier problem where all dates remained unchanged so it looks like I was doing something wrong which in my case is the norm.
Many thanks
HB

[hornblower]

The problem does appear to be due to InCD. I just performed the following experiment on my multiboot PC

I then booted to the OS on J that has Drag2Disc.

Ran the ChangePathTimes program, copying from E:\ to Q:\EE.
Worked as expected, indicating that incd is causing the problem.

Just out of interest I installed the latest version of Drag to Disc v900B24A
When copying from hard drive to optical drive:
The folder date is changed to the current date the modified date remains unchanged
Using ChangePathTimes has no effect the date remains at the current date
I then tried other programs to change the date of the folder and in every case it was not possible to change the date.
Looking at the installed files of Drag to Disc indicates that this version is very different from previous versions and seems to be a combination of Roxios Drag to Disc and Sonics DLA so it looks a bit like they have made errors.
I have read that Vista uses a packet writing program supplied by Sonic so if it is as above ChangePathTimes will not work with Vista.
HB

[Howard Kaikow]

Good day Howard
I think I have partly solved my problem and unsolved your problem.
I have been using a combination of Windows Explorer and Total Commander
If I copy 3 folders from hard drive to optical drive using Explorer the folder date is changed to the current date time.
Now I open Total Commander and run ChangePathTimes the result is as follows:
First folder date unchanged
Second and third folder date changed correctly
If I then run ChangePathTimes again all dates are changed correctly
If I only use Windows Explorer throughout then everything works perfectly.
I have been unable to replicate my earlier problem where all dates remained unchanged so it looks like I was doing something wrong which in my case is the norm.
Many thanks
HB

I did see a problem using InCD, but an older version of InCD.

Perhaps, you had left open the Windows Explorer window forth DVD drive,
in which case you would have to refresh the window to see the changed dates.

[Howard Kaikow]

Just out of interest I installed the latest version of Drag to Disc v900B24A
When copying from hard drive to optical drive:
The folder date is changed to the current date the modified date remains unchanged
Using ChangePathTimes has no effect the date remains at the current date

I just have to believe that either you are not refreshing the relevant Windows Explorer window, or you have a program installed that seriously interferes with the Windows file API.

Both the ChangefileTimes and Change PathTimes programs ultimately use the SetFileTime API. Do not see how that can fail unless InCD/Drag2Disk is messed up or there's a prpgram seriously interfering with the fileAPI functions, which I find difficult to believe.

I then tried other programs to change the date of the folder and in every case it was not possible to change the date.
Looking at the installed files of Drag to Disc indicates that this version is very different from previous versions and seems to be a combination of Roxios Drag to Disc and Sonics DLA so it looks a bit like they have made errors.

I've ordered Nero 7 Ultra Enhanced, but have no plans to install until I get a Vista system.

I have read that Vista uses a packet writing program supplied by Sonic so if it is as above ChangePathTimes will not work with Vista.

The issue would not be Vista, the issue is the CD/DVD recording software.
As long as Vista does not change the semantics for the following APIs, the programs will work in Vista.

Code: Select all

CloseHandle
CompareFileTime
CopyMemory
CreateFileW
FileTimeToLocalFileTime
FileTimeToSystemTime
FindClose
FindFirstFileW
FindNextFileW
FlashWindowEx
FlushFileBuffers
FormatMessage
GetLastError
GetVersionEx
SetFileAttributes
SetFileTime
SetFilePointer
SetLastError
WriteFile