User profile for user: nigelj
nigelj Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Date modified always wrong

Hi all,

Recently I've noticed that document dates (modified) in Finder are all displaying incorrectly.

As an example...a document I created Friday 30 May 2008 at 07:47, modified same date at 08:51, shows in Finder as being modified on 30 January 2008 08:51.

When I do Apple+I the info is correct.

The same as above example applies to all files...including about 250 photos I took last week whilst on holiday...only the ones copied/edited yesterday are correct (the show 'yesterday')...all the ones I copied to the MBP and edited earlier last week show January instead of May.

Any else experiencing this...and can someone tell me what I can do to rectify it?

Thanks,

Nige

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.2), 2.4GHz / 4GB / ex-ELP keyboard (hurray!)

Posted on Jun 7, 2008 5:22 AM

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14 replies
User profile for user: glsmith
glsmith
User level: Level 3
875 points

Jun 8, 2008 2:46 PM in response to nigelj

Out of curiosity, if you add the Date Created column to the Finder window (under View Options), does that display an incorrect timestamp as well? Another simple test -- find a file that is displaying incorrectly, then do something to change the mtime on that file (you could do this, for example, in the Terminal with the "touch" command). When that file is then viewed in the Finder, is the modified time now correct?
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User profile for user: nigelj
nigelj Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jun 8, 2008 11:46 PM in response to glsmith

Hi,

1 - yes, date created is also wrong
2 - if I edit (e.g.) a Word document, the Finder date modified is still wrong, but Apple+I shows the correct new mod date/time
3 - if I change a mod date/time using touch in terminal, same result...Finder still shows January (the other parts of date and time are correct)...Apple+I shows the correct new dates

A couple of other observations...
a - All months show as January in Finder, instead of the correct month
b - In an open or save dialog (e.g. in Word, Excel, PhotoShop), the modified dates are correct!

Any other ideas/suggestions?
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User profile for user: nigelj
nigelj Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jun 9, 2008 1:50 PM in response to glsmith

I just created a new account, and guess what, dates/times look OK in Finder.

So...what can it be in my account that's doing this? I did a full OS X and software re-install only 3-4 weeks ago, so I can't believe it's corrupted. Is there a config/plist/other file that I need to delete to reset something?

Here's an off-topic winge (my own opinion)...

As a new Mac user (4 months) I am wondering why I ever changed from Windows...the MBP cost about double what a good quality Windows laptop would have, I wouldn't have had to buy new software, and I wouldn't have had all the issues I've had...this machine has never worked properly , and I've never seen so many people having so many problems with hardware, software, updates as I've seen here...it seems that almost every Apple update breaks something...sometimes in a major way...what on earth is all the Apple hype about? Why do all the hundreds and thousands of Mac users put up with this? In 20+ years of using computers (yes...mostly variations of Windows), I can honestly say I have never, ever had the hardware and software issues I am seeing on my MBP. I know Windows is far from perfect, but for the most part, it does work OK. Amongst other things, I have had to re-install OS and software TWICE in 4 months...it's complete boll**ks.

I hope someone can give me some good reasons to stick with a Mac, otherwise I might throw this in the bin...I'm loosing more money than the value of a new computer in the time I'm wasting that I can't bill to clients, trying to get this one working properly.

/end of winge/

vbrgds to all,

Nige

Message was edited by: nigelj
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User profile for user: glsmith
glsmith
User level: Level 3
875 points

Jun 9, 2008 2:07 PM in response to nigelj

So...what can it be in my account that's doing this? I did a full OS X and software re-install only 3-4 >weeks ago, so I can't believe it's corrupted. Is there a config/plist/other file that I need to delete to >reset something?


Well, you could whack your user account's Finder preferences and have Finder recreate a fresh set. Note that this will remove all your Finder prefs of course, so use at your own risk. I did the following on a secondary machine of mine, and it didn't seem to cause harm except for the fact that it reset all the Finder prefs:

1. Locate your Finder prefs, probably somewhere like:

/Users/<YOUR USER>/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

2. In that Preferences folder, rename the com.apple.finder.plist file to some other name.

3. From the Apple Menu, Force Quit, relaunch the Finder.

This should completely recreate your Finder settings. Maybe that will do the trick.
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User profile for user: nigelj
nigelj Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jun 9, 2008 3:03 PM in response to nigelj

FIXED!!!

a - Go to System Preferences > International > Format...
b - I have some customized date formats set (e.g. days as 2 digits with leading 0 etc.)...in Region drop down select the default for country (United Kingdom in my case) to reset the prefs to the original settings
c - Then click Customize button in Dates section and reset my own prefs

Back in Finder all timestamps are now correct.
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User profile for user: glsmith
glsmith
User level: Level 3
875 points

Jun 9, 2008 3:07 PM in response to nigelj

I hope someone can give me some good reasons to stick with a Mac, otherwise I might throw this in >the bin...I'm loosing more money than the value of a new computer in the time I'm wasting that I can't >bill to clients, trying to get this one working properly.


I'e be happy to take your MBP off your hands if you're going to toss it 🙂

This thread isn't the place for this type of discussion, and me telling you that my Mac experience has been incredible compared to that of my Windows and Linux experiences, isn't going to change how you feel.

One suggestion I might offer is to perhaps install the latest Tiger release (10.4.11) for stability reasons, and wait a bit longer for 10.5 to mature.
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User profile for user: nigelj
nigelj Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Jun 10, 2008 12:37 AM in response to glsmith

glsmith wrote:

This thread isn't the place for this type of discussion, and me telling you that my Mac experience has been incredible compared to that of my Windows and Linux experiences, isn't going to change how you feel.

One suggestion I might offer is to perhaps install the latest Tiger release (10.4.11) for stability reasons, and wait a bit longer for 10.5 to mature.


Yes I know that...sorry!

No you can't have my MBP...whatever the situ, I can't really afford to bin it, just feel that way 😉 In reality I'm as frustrated as **** that this £1600 bit of kit doesn't work as it should, but actually love the machine and the OS!

I'm not sure if my issues are Leopard- or hardware-related, but would be interested in hearing more about Tiger vs Leopard. If I start a new thread will you give me some more info?

Thanks

Nige
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User profile for user: glsmith
glsmith
User level: Level 3
875 points

Jun 10, 2008 9:51 AM in response to nigelj

Yeah, you might get people weighing in, especially if you post to "Using Mac OS X Leopard".

I probably won't be a good advocate for Tiger, since I have not had many problems with Leopard at all. Strange, since almost all of my hardware is older: G4 MacBook, iMac G5, PowerMac G5 and pre-Intel. But maybe that's part of the reason 🙂
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Date modified always wrong

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