you can add whatever you'd like to the end of the file name, but you have to remember that these are not the original files you were working with (as far as the operating system is concerned). They were created fresh on the day you pasted them and have no information of the previous copy.

The dates were more for historical purposes, as opposed to actually serving a particular function. That said, if it's impossible to get the original dates (someone suggested using a hex editor, but I haven't a clue about such things, or if it'd even work) I'll just make do with the current dates

Cheers.

you could probably use a hex editor, but it wouldn't actually be "retrieving" previous dates as much as manually inserting them, at that point it would probably be less trouble to just put it in the file names or come up with a new organizational scheme.

Do the files still exist somewhere with the original dates?
Because it's entirely possible to just get a list of filenames and dates from the old system, then update the dates of those same files on the new system.

So the hex editor would at best allow me to input my own dates, as opposed to allow me to see the original date the file was in fact created? If that's the case, it would be much easier to use a specialised application which does that for you (I'm a complete newbie when it comes to code and such haha). My hope was the the original date would be permanently stored somewhere in the file, regardless of any date changes that occurred after that first date. But it seems that this isn't the case.

Unfortunately not; the files had to be transferred to a new external hard drive after the last one went tits-up. Plus I think the files were transferred to that first external drive from an old (and long since dead/dumped) internal drive.

Like I said, the dates aren't of any practical use to me, it's more a case of historical interest/nostalgia hehehe (kinda like when you write the date on the back of a photograph). From now on I will just incorporate the desired dates into my filenames as soon as they are created.

Cheers dudes!