File Creation Date Oddity? Or Normal Behavior?

Something I discovered tonight...let me explain by example:

I have two files in folder AAA. One is named BBB, with a creation date of 1-1-14. One is named CCC, with a creation date of 8-1-14.

If I delete BBB, and then rename CCC to BBB, then that file's creation date changes from 8-1-14 to 1-1-14, even though the content stays the same as when it was actually created on 8-1-14.

Is this normal? If so, I’ve never noticed before. Also, if it’s normal, what do you think the rationale is, and does this differ from XP? For my purposes this is a useful -- if unexpected -- behavior (I won’t go into *why* I like it unless someone asks).

Thanks.

cyanna said:

Can't reproduce this on my computer. AFAIK rename operations will not change either creation date or modify date.

Interesting.... Maybe my computer knows I *like* that behavior?

The kinds of filetypes I've tried this with so far are txt, pdf, internet shortcut and (IIRC) Word document. Did you try any of those?

Yes, I'll have to try on another computer. I wonder if maybe one of my tweaking utilities, e.g., Classic Shell, Ultimate Win 7 Tweaker, or Attribute Changer is somehow causing this? Or maybe even the fact that I migrated my files to this pc via XXCOPY using a creation-date-preservation function? Also, since I actually like the behavior, my only concern is whether this might imply any current or potential system corruption of any significance. System File Checker doesn't show any corrupt files.