Third-Party File Copier that preserves Metadata?

[Revolution 11]

One problem that has always bugged me with Windows is that the file copier in the OS will give copied files new "Date Created" and "Date Modified" metadata. For example, if I copy a file originally created/modified in 01/01/1999 at 12:00PM and the time right now is 08/15/2016 at 12:00PM, the copied file loses the original date and gets the new one.

This is annoying when I am manually storing files in custom locations on a backup drive. I have looked at some other forums and most of them suggest a sync program but that is no good to me because the location that a file needs to be stored differs from file to file.

I would like to keep the original dates for copied files because it helps me sort them chronologically within a backup folder. Is there a reliable way to do this on Windows 7 for a file or group of files?

 

[Bardock]

Pretty sure Total Commander can do this but I have never tried.

 

[Revolution 11]

To clarify, the copying will be from internal drive to external USB drive, not within the same drive. I am not sure if that matters...

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Doesn't robocopy have an option to preserve metadata?

 

[Bubbaleone]

+1 for robocopy....Here's an article written by a certified computer forensic examiner who uses Window's native RoboCopy tool for preserving critical metadata during folder/file copy operations when he's gathering electronic data (evidence) required in legal cases. IMHO, his explanations and examples are far more comprehensible than MSDN or TechNet articles are regarding robocopy syntax and usage.

Robocopy in e-Discovery

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