Short of naming all date critical text files ( like emails, correspondence,
invoices) starting with the YYYY-MM-DD date formula and then arrange files
by name is there another way of forcing XP to accept the original creation
date?

For instance if I need to restore emails from a back up disc, once back in
the correct folder they all display the date of restoration for both
creation and modified option.

So you get a block of emails all with an identical date.

Am I missing something obvious??