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I am having an issues with wrong time - stamps on files. Can you help?

I am having an issues with wrong time - stamps on files. Can you help?

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

I just noticed that a whole bunch of my files in my Dropbox folder are now dated Jan 1, 2016.  I absolutely know they were not created on that date.  In fact, I was not working on anything on New Years Day!  Why is this happening and how do I fix it? 

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

This turned out to be corrupt settings on my Mac's Language and Region preferences.  I restored to default and it fixed it.  You are on PC, so see if there is a similar setting which can be restored to see if that fixes it.  For me, it was nothing to do with Dropbox, but was a Mac preference setting.

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8 Replies 8

carljohan
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hi David,

Depending on which date you are referring to, this could be the date when the files are created or modified. If you see that multiple files have the same date and time, it's possible that they were modified by some third party software. For example, if you are using a backup or anti-virus software, it is possible that this software modified the file which would cause the date to change. Unfortunately, you will not be able to see this for entire folders in Dropbox, but if specific files where modified and if you have Extended Version History you can see from which device a file was modified by looking at its previous version history. You can read more about this here:

https://www.dropbox.com/help/11

Hope this helps!

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

It's the "modified date" heading and I have no third party software on my Mac that could be changing the dates.  Apple suggested it could be the Dropbox plugin doing it, since Dropbox controls the finder.  In fact, the only third party software I am using is the Dropbox plugin.  The date is showing as 01 Jan 2016 for files created after that date, so it's impossible for anyone to have modified them back in time, so this has to be a software issue.  I don't know if it's Dropbox related or not, but Apple suggested it could be, which is why I am asking here.

carljohan
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hmm... In order to troubleshoot this further, we'd need to look at some specific files that shows this modified date and see if they have been changed at that time. In order to do so, could you please contact us at https://www.dropbox.com/support with one or two examples of files where you are seeing this, as well as a screenshot of the date modified so that we can have a closer look.

Cheers!

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

I don't see anyway on the support page to include any attachments.  In terms of your wanting to see if the files had ever "been changed at that time", as I say, it's impossible if the file was created after Jan 1st 2016, but shows that earlier date, right?

carljohan
Dropbox Staff
Go to solution

Hi David,

You can include screenshots by posting a Dropbox link to the screenshot. Once you hear back from support you can also respond to the email and include a screenshot in your response. The reason I asked you to include names of specific files was so that the support agent would be able to see if the files were edited that day or not. And yes, if the file was created at a later date, then it should not show an earlier modified date.

Cheers

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

Of course!  A Dropbox link.  Doh!  Okay, here is a link to a Jan 01 2016 file which was actually created and modified on Jan 05 2016. It displays Jan 01 in the Finder, but Get Info shows Jan 05.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tc6re4pcw48csfr/TEARS_1_0014.png?dl=0

Dave C.17
Explorer | Level 3
Go to solution

I've been having a similar problem that has persisted for at least a month and recurs often. This is causing us operational problems, as we are uncertain if the file is the up-to-date version.

After putting a freshly-saved file in the dropbox, the File Explorer view of the dropbox shows bad date and time. Generally, it shows a couple of days behind the actual time of putting the file in the dropbox. The other person looking in his dropbox through File Explorer sees the SAME bad date and time. When he copies the file out of dropbox and looks at it in File Explorer, the date and time are correct. Win 10 Pro 64.

David F.61
Helpful | Level 7
Go to solution

This turned out to be corrupt settings on my Mac's Language and Region preferences.  I restored to default and it fixed it.  You are on PC, so see if there is a similar setting which can be restored to see if that fixes it.  For me, it was nothing to do with Dropbox, but was a Mac preference setting.

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    David F.61 Helpful | Level 7
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    Dave C.17 Explorer | Level 3
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    carljohan Dropbox Staff
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