File date and time updates

Started by Tom G.

Tom G.

File date and time updates   24 February 2021, 11:30

Hello -
We are maybe interested in an OEM license for your RAM Disk product. It seems to work fine under Win 2016, but under Win 10 files that are continually being overwritten do not show updates to their creation date timestamp in explorer. Is this a known problem?
Thanks
SoftPerfect Support forum - Ann avatar image
Ann

Re: File date and time updates   24 February 2021, 11:46

RAM Disk implements a simple block storage, it can't really affect what happens to file dates.

What you have encountered is a Windows feature known as tunnelling. When a name is removed from a directory (rename or delete), its short/long name pair and its creation time are saved in a cache, keyed by the name that was removed. When a name is added to a directory (rename or create), the cache is searched to see if there is any information to restore. The cache is effective per instance of a directory. If a directory is deleted, its cache is removed.

Microsoft used to have an article about this under KB 172190. This article has been since removed, however here is another confirmation of this behaviour:
Quote

docs.microsoft.com

If you rename or delete a file, then restore it shortly thereafter, Windows searches the cache for file information to restore. Cached information includes its short/long name pair and creation time.



Tunneling

Tunneling capabilities exist to enable compatibility with programs that rely on file systems being able to hold onto file meta info for a short period of time. Its effects appear after a deletion or renaming and subsequent re-introduction of a new directory entry with the same meta-info, i.e. if a create or rename action causes a file of that name to appear again in a short period of time.

Tunneling cache time can be adjusted. It can also be disabled via Windows registry or if tunneling effects are undesirable. Please note that if tunneling is disabled, applications that use this method can lose the name they are unaware of (usually long file names) and the rediscovery of shortcut targets could be impaired as the creation timestamps cannot remain constant for files manipulated by such applications.
  • To increase tunneling cache time, modify the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem registry key by adding a new DWORD value MaximumTunnelEntryAgeInSeconds and then setting it to 30. The value can be between 1 and 30 seconds, the default is 15.
  • To disable tunneling, modify the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem registry key by adding a new DWORD value MaximumTunnelEntries and then setting it to 0.

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