At least cmd.exe using the dir command shows you the "correct" date in the sense of mtime. Whatever else you use seems to show you different data. I'm not the one to judge which one of the two is "right" or "wrong", but you will need to find out how you look at the "Windows file system", and determine whether the process of using dir or whatever else process you are using uses mtime or a different approach and which approach is "correct".

Your process as reflected in your program uses mtime and that approach is consistent with other parts of the OS that also are highly likely to use mtime (or rather, the Windows equivalent).

If you want to use a date entry different from mtime, you will have to specify which entry you want to use. Most likely, this entails detailing how you currently determine the "correct" timestamp of a file. If you can, for example, specify that you find the "correct" timestamp of a file through Explorer.exe, then likely culprits for showing a different timestamp than the mtime are various plugins for Explorer.exe that deliver a timestamp different from mtime.

I am using explorer.exe to look at the list of files in the stage and KY directories.

To try to summarize, explorer.exe shows the dates of all 12 like-named file pairs (not including KY3.gif) in these 2 directories to have different stamps.

My application and diagnostics (using mtime) I've run show all 12 file pairs have the same stamp, the stamp of the first file, or the 2nd file (stage) stamp is incorrect.

But the KY3 test showing the stamps of the 2 KY3 files initially, then after an open and close of each, a 30 second wait, and then another open and close of both, yielded correct results.

I will look into the plugin suggestion. I can say now that I've never installed any plugin that had anything to do with explorer.exe. I am feeling a little lost.