Concept - File Reference

Overview

A unique identifier for a FILE record in the MFT.

Layout

Offset	Size	Description
0x00	6	FILE record number
0x06	2	Sequence number

Notes

Sequence number

If the filesystem is consistent, this number must match the sequence number of the FILE record referenced by the FILE record number.

    mft references (aka file references or file record segment references) are
    used whenever a structure needs to refer to a record in the mft.

    A reference consists of a 48-bit index into the mft and a 16-bit sequence
    number used to detect stale references.

    when is the seq num incremented