Modification dates

[AlanCarnall]

We have a G3 server running Apple Share 8.6 with Retrospect 4.3C. We back up over night and when we return any file that has been transferred to the server the day before, its modification date has been changed to the day it was filed. If we turn Retrospect off it does not happen. All Retrospect clients are working fine.

 

EG

A file created on 23.5.03 is filed on the 28.5.03 and after Retrospect has backed up it has a modification date of 28.5.03 not 23.5.03 as it should.

 

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

[AmyJ]

Retrospect does not have the ability to change modification dates on your files. Can you provide more information about your setup and what steps it would take to reproduce this?

 

Are you doing a backup or a duplicate? If a duplicate, where are the files stored? Locally? On the network?

 

A file created on 23.5.03 is filed on the 28.5.03 and after Retrospect has backed up it has a modification date of 28.5.03 not 23.5.03 as it should.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I understand from your example that you are creating a file on May 23, but I don't know what you mean by "it is filed on May 28." Filed how? What are you doing with the file?

 

 

[AlanCarnall]

We have a G3 server running Apple Share 8.6 with Retrospect 4.3C.

 

We transfer our files from other Macs on the network on to the G3 server to "back up" over night and when we return the next day any file that has been transferred to the server the day before has had its modification date changed to the day it was filed and sould show the date it was created. If we turn Retrospect off it does not happen. All Retrospect clients are working fine. Everything worked OK before we upgraded to 4.3C it seams.

EG

A file created on 23.5.03 is transfered on the 28.5.03 to the G3 server from another Mac on the network and after Retrospect has backed up it has a modification date of 28.5.03 not 23.5.03 as it should.

Any help is very much appreciated.

 

Thanks Amy for looking at this.

[AmyJ]

How do you copy the data to the other server? Are you using Retrospect do duplicate the data or are you copying it through the Finder?

 

Are you doing backups or duplicates?

 

Copy one of these files through the finder to the G3 Server and then check the date. Is it the same or has it changed?

 

If the date looks okay, immediately use Retrospect to copy the file. Does the date change?

[AlanCarnall]

We copy the files to the server over our network in finder. When a file is copied on to the server the modification date is ok and stays ok until we use Retrospect to back up (do a copy overnight ever night) on to dlt tape. Then the modification date changes to the date Restrospect was last used and stays at that date even when Restrospect is used after that.

 

eg

File created on 1.4.03.

Transfered to server in finder mode on 7.4.03.

Modification date (OK) stays at 1.4.03.

Restropsect backs up overnight to dlt tape on 7.4.03.

Next day modification date 7.4.03.

Modificaion date now set to 7.4.03 even when Restrospect is used night after night. ie it only changes the date on the first day that it sees a new file is present.

 

If we stop Restrospect from doing a back up then all modification dates stay ok.

 

Many thanks. Hope this is clearer for you.

 

[pscs]

FWIW, we get exactly the same 'problem'..

 

It's only changed files which get their modification date updated (I notice because I leave visual studio open overnight, and in the morning it wants to reload all the files that I changed the day before - because their timestamps have been updated - apparently by Retrospect)

[AmyJ]

Copy one of these files through the finder to the G3 Server and then check the date. Is it the same or has it changed?

 

If the date looks okay, immediately use Retrospect to copy the file through an immediate backup. Does the date change?

[AlanCarnall]

Hi Amy C, Sorry I haven't got back to you quickly but it's been a bit busy here.

 

You asked me to copy files throught finder onto the server HD and check if the dates were correct & they where.

 

I couldn't run Retrospect immediately as we back up overnight but the next morning I got these errors in the log. Note, if we hadn't run Restrospect at all the dates would be correct the next day.

 

Hope this helps you, please find selected log details below.

 

P.S. My 2 year old daughter is called Amy so she is and Amy C also!

 

LOG

- 20/5/2003 10:04:40 pm: Copying Server HD

20/5/2003 11:56:55 pm: Comparing Server HD

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 11:59:24 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:17 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No1 JimInGarden140mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:58:48 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:17 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No1 JimInGarden170mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:58:02 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:18 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No2 Jim54mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 9:28:07 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:18 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No2 Jim80mm200dpiCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:57:28 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:19 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No3 Group150mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 11:36:13 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:20 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No3 Group220mm200dpiCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:56:56 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:21 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No4 Cortage50mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 9:29:21 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:21 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No4 Cortage80mm200dpiCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:56:15 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:24 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No5 100mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 12:14:49 pm, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:24 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No5 70mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 19/5/2003 11:55:33 am, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:30 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No6 300mmCMYK”.

Different modify date/time (set: 20/5/2003 12:13:31 pm, vol: 20/5/2003 12:21:37 pm) for file “Server HD:Drive 5:FULL COLOUR SCANS:BURNASTON PICS:Jim Marsh Tribute pics:No6 70mmCMYK”.

21/5/2003 1:45:05 am: 12 execution errors

Completed: 7429 files, 7.9 GB

Performance: 73.8 MB/minute (72.0 copy, 75.6 compare)

Duration: 03:40:25 (00:01:36 idle/loading/preparing)

[AmyJ]

Out of 7429 files, there are 12 that see these errors according to the log entry. Are the errors always on these same 12 files or on random files?

 

 

[AlanCarnall]

Hi Amy, no it isn't on the same files, I just included the log to see if it helps you as I don't think it logs errors very often but I will keep checking the log.

 

The day after the errors were logged and a back-up was completed there were no errors at all.

 

I will file something through finder on to the server, back-up and check the log to see if it logs errors on newly copied files and then changes the modification dates due to errors maybe? Then I will get back to you.

 

Many thanks Alan

[AlanCarnall]

Hi Amy

I copied these files through finder onto the server on the 28th May 2003.

 

SimmonsB/ML/HA4 2col (Modification Date May 20th 2003)

Burnaston 280x356fc (Modification Date May 22nd 2003)

BURN 136x66fc (Modification Date May 7th 2003)

 

After Retrospect did a back-up overnight (back-up schedules to start at 9pm on the 28th May 2003) this is what I got, with no errors in the log, on the morning of 29th May 2003.

 

SimmonsB/ML/HA4 2col (Modification Date May 28th 2003)

Burnaston 280x356fc (Modification Date May 28th 2003)

BURN 136x66fc (Modification Date May 28th 2003)

 

Restrospect is changing the modification dates to the date it first back-ups the files. After that it leaves them alone.

 

Many thanks, Alan.

[mcswgn]

What are the modification *times* as well as dates on the files you listed?

 

Can you also include the part of your log from May 28 showing the times at which Retrospect first started the backup of this machine, started the compare phase, and finished the backup? It should show time stamps for all of these. It would be very interesting to compare the time of day the files now show they were last modified to the times Retrospect was doing the various parts of its backup.

[AlanCarnall]

re "Times"

 

I have not saved the tester files that I copied on the 28th so I will have to repeat the test (using the same files though) then I will get back to you after they have been backed up.

 

Many thanks for taking time to look at this for me - it has been going on for around 18 months!

[AlanCarnall]

Tester files copied through finder on to server.

 

Modification date & time

file1 20/5/03 3.17pm

file2 22/5/03 9.25am

file3 7/5/03 5.24pm

All above copied to server on 5/6/03 at 3.49pm and after Retrospect backed up over night they now read

file1 5/6.03 3.45pm

file2 5/6.03 3.45pm

file3 5/6.03 3.45pm

 

Retried experiment with the same files and this happened.

 

Modification date & time

file1 20/5/03 3.17pm

file2 22/5/03 9.25am

file3 7/5/03 5.24pm

All above copied to server on 13/6/03 at 3.08pm and after Retrospect backed up over night they now read

file1 13/6.03 3.08pm

file2 13/6.03 3.08pm

file3 13/6.03 3.08pm

 

All files were transfered to server from the same Mac. Clocks on both Mac showing the same time.

 

Any ideas? Many thanks.

[mcswgn]

In each case, the dates/times shown for each of the three files is *after* copying to the server and not of the original source files? The way in which the date/time is viewed for each file between copy and backup and then after backup is the same? (How? Via Get Info...?)

 

On a unix system there are three times associated with a file: a "change" time, a "modification" time and a last "access" time (and for the life of me I can never remember the difference between change and modification times). If the answer to both questions above is "yes", it almost looks like some of these times are being switched.

 

Another thought just occured to me. From what machine are you looking at these times? You are copying them from a client to a network disk on a server, correct? Are you sitting at the *client* to check the times or the server? If you are sitting at the client, it may be that the OS is caching file info and is reporting that right after copying the time hasn't changed when in reality the server has set the time to the copy time.

 

[mcswgn]

After rereading your original post I realize that you are not running OS X (presumably on neither the client nor the server?), so you can ignore my comments on unix time issues.

 

However, I would still be interested in knowing how you are checking the modification times ("Get Info..."?) and whether it is while sitting at the client looking at the files as they sit on a network disk, or while sitting at the server and looking at them on a local disk.

 

[AlanCarnall]

The original modification dates shown are for the original files before (whilst on the client) and after being copied to the server. They stay correct whether I view them from the client or from the server and they stay the same until Retrospect does a backup overnight of the server, then they change.

 

Viewing files from client or server before and after a backup gives the same results.

 

If I disable Retrospect to miss an overnight backup the modification dates remain unchanged and correct.

 

The Retrospect software is running on the G3 server and our modification dates problems are isolated to the G3 server only. All the clients that are backed up do not suffer from these modification date issues.

 

Many thanks.

 

 

[AmyJ]

What happens if try the following:

 

Copy a file to the server as you normally do.

Create a new folder on the server.

Option-drag (to copy) the file to the new folder

Compare the dates/times of the original file vs. the finder copied file

 

Do the dates/times stay the same or change?

 

Try a backup of both the original and the copy (mark the 2 files in the Preview window to avoid a complete backup). Do both files generate the "Different modify date/time" error?