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There is something odd going on here with datestamps on VRPC, SA Adjust, here. It is rather confusing at the moment, there seems to be some inconsistencies. I have yet to find a pattern to this.
Moving files to and from HostFS can result in the loss of the original datestamp, it is replaced by the current time. This makes doing backups hazardous as the backup can have a later date than the original. Syncopath is forever telling me that backups are wrong.
Even more bizarre is that datestamps on HostFS can change on their own. For example I am just updating AppBasic and the date on the old StrongHelp is yesterday's, how can that happen, it should be October! Simply dragging the in reality newer file over the actual old one is going to fail.
This report is for VRPC is on Vista.
There are also silly datestamps to be seen in VRPC HostFS on WindowsXP. If I look inside !PipeDream all the files except !Help are 16 July 2007, which is probably when it was copied over, !Help is at 14Oct 1991, its real date.
Am I missing something? ADFS partitions are better behaved.

I get something similar with VirtualRPC-SE
Copying !Pipedream from an A410 (RiscOS 3.1) to a Risc PC700 (RiscOS 3.6), all the files keep their original dates/times and the directories all have new datestamps. This has always been the case copying applications between RiscOS 3.x machines (and as far as I can remember with RiscOS 2, as well)
When I copy the same !PipeDream from the A410 to VirtualRPC-SE (RiscOS 4.02), the directories are given new datestamps as expected, but the datestamps on the files vary (and not consistent with file type).
And, yes, copying to ADFS works exactly as expected.
And then copying (on VRPC-SE) from ADFS to HostFS corrupts the datestamps.

Not to be outdone I can report similar 'confusing' behaviour on a Mac Mini (!) with Leopard O/S and using HostFS under Risc OS Adjust 4.39.
I wish to preserve legacy timestamps but my attempts to copy files results in many newly touched files and a spattering of real (old) dates. Various RunImage Files (Absolute) for some unexplained reason some 50% of the time have date and timestamp preserved, other files not. Nearly all files lose their older datestamp. None come over locked and cannot be locked (filer->access->protected is an ineffective operation)
I believe I have tried both ARM RPC push to Mac and Mac pull from RPC over ShareFS.
By the way my Boot structure, imported from the VRPC CD ROM, has sensible time stamps (all files unlocked and cannot be locked).
Normally therse things have a pattern but this one is subtle...
PS I want HostFS I think because the new Time Machine backup on Leopard is to be used to incrementally back up the many many individual files comprising Hard Disk 4 via their UNIX timestamps (presumably 'touching' an object in RiscOS also updates the UNIX timestamp.
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PS being a UNIX old timer I use the word Touch as broadly follows:
DESCRIPTION
The [UNIX] touch utility sets the modification and access times of files to the
current time of day. If the file doesn't exist, it is created with
default permissions.

I still have not found any consistency with this problem.
Fortunately, it is not a real issue yet, as I still do all my development on a 'real' RiscPC (where everything is datestamped correctly) and then perform additional tests on VRPC-SE,
However, it would be nice to know that I could someday I could migrate fully to VRPC-SE

I think I have the date stamp issue almost under control here. It is the copy operation that messes up the works in that the copy takes on the time of the copy. One example of a copy that caused some of my difficulties was using SparkFS, the extraction from a zip is in fact a copy. That is avoided by using SparkPlug or Spark. Another hazard is Moonfish/Sunfish, ShareFS is better at respecting datestamps but a complete lavatory in other respects.
If I want to copy on VRPC I use !DirSync, that way I can see that the datestamps have been preserved.
To be honest my experience with VRPC/Vista is getting near the point where it makes sense to give up and junk RISC OS.

I have to disagree with your final comment. Risc OS still has many advantages over possible alternatives and is a very stable platform.
Having said that, I think that there are still a small number of issues with VRPC which need fixing and the datestamp issue is one of them?

Thanks to pittdj for the 'copy' remark.
Insofar as I'm wanting to reproduce datestamps from real RPC (RRPC?!) onto the VRPC I think the following is workable for a one-shot transfer:
Use !SparkFS on the real RPC to package the items into Zip archives
use SparkPlug on the VRPC to read/unpack. Seems to work.
A typical example/need is a series of older letters; the datestamp must be preserved to give me additional handle on when they were written.Same sort of thing with Modules inside !System (in case I need modules - the VRPC disk seems to have almost all I need and if it aint broke...)
Thanks again

The problem here is not with RISC OS itself but with VRPC on Vista.
I have just had to re-install Vista, probably my fault for trying the beta of SP1. I am back now with a VRPC conumdrum that requires User Account Control to be on to allow WinClip to see VAclipboard.dll but UAC must be off to stop the screen forever crashing.