Note   This method may return an inaccurate value, because it uses native functions whose values may not be continuously updated by the operating system.

The value of the FileSystemInfo.CreationTime property is pre-cached if the current instance of the System.IO.FileSystemInfo object was returned from any of the following System.IO.DirectoryInfo methods:

• DirectoryInfo.GetDirectories

• DirectoryInfo.GetFiles

• DirectoryInfo.GetFileSystemInfos

• DirectoryInfo.EnumerateDirectories

• DirectoryInfo.EnumerateFiles

• DirectoryInfo.EnumerateFileSystemInfos

To get the latest value, call the FileSystemInfo.Refresh method.

If the file described in the System.IO.FileSystemInfo object does not exist, this property will return 12:00 midnight, January 1, 1601 A.D. (C.E.) Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), adjusted to local time.

NTFS-formatted drives may cache file meta-info, such as file creation time, for a short period of time. This process is known as file tunneling. As a result, it may be necessary to explicitly set the creation time of a file if you are overwriting or replacing an existing file.

This property value is null if the file system containing the System.IO.FileSystemInfo object does not support this information.

Namespace: System.IO
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Assembly Versions: 1.0.5000.0, 2.0.0.0, 4.0.0.0