OK, I figured out my way, it seems that I could solve most of the problems. My big problem now is that the recursive_directory_iterator goes through a file which has a really long name. I think it's more than 256 characters. It says: boost::filesystem::last_write_time: The system cannot find the path specified: Is there a fix or something for boost to handle more than 256 characters in windows path? I am using MSVC2010 + latest Boostpro installer. Zsolt p.s. so far here is my code. If you have any idea about what I am doing wrong, please don't hesitate to comment: #define BOOST_FILESYSTEM_VERSION 3 #include "boost/filesystem.hpp" #include <iostream> #include <ctime> using namespace std; namespace fs = boost::filesystem; int main() { fs::recursive_directory_iterator it_end; fs::recursive_directory_iterator it_dir("e:\\"); fs::path p; time_t oldest( time(NULL) ); time_t newest(0); try { for ( ; it_dir != it_end; ++it_dir ) { p = *it_dir; try { time_t t( last_write_time(p) ); if (t<oldest) oldest=t; if (t>newest) newest=t; //if (fs::is_directory(p)) cout << (p) << " " << t << endl; } catch (const fs::filesystem_error& ex) { cout << "\n" << ex.what() << "\n"; } } } catch (const fs::filesystem_error& ex) { cout << "\n" << ex.what() << "\n"; } cout << "\nOldest: " << ctime(&oldest); cout << "Newest: " << ctime(&newest) << endl; return 0; }