Installing on a Windows 2003 Server

I have a Windows 2003 Server and I am installing new applications and every time I install the new application, the file dates are the current day dates, instead of the date that the file was actually modified. This cause a problem when I try to compare a file dates for troubleshooting purposes. I could just compare the actual version number, but I just wanted to know was there a switch, registry setting, or other setting to turn this off so I cou get the correct modified date.