refs-integrity-streams · shipping · also ReFS file-data checksums

ReFS integrity streams

ReFS integrity streams maintain checksums for selected file data, enabling validation during reads and background integrity scans.

Related Observatory article: ReFS integrity streams on hesela.com

Settings are inherited from parent directories. The integrity scrubber can validate file contents only where integrity streams are enabled. Checksum processing and allocate-on-write can add workload-dependent costs. [1]

Get-FileIntegrity reports Enabled and Enforced separately. Enforced concerns blocking access after corruption is detected, not whether checksums exist; the documented output includes Enabled=False with Enforced=True. The Set-FileIntegrity Enforce parameter controls blocking, and setting it true also enables integrity. [2] [3]

Do not assume a universal default: the integrity overview describes file-data checksums as disabled by default, while format /I documents enabling integrity by default on storage supporting redundancy. Inspect the relevant file's settings. [1] [4]

The Win32 integrity-query result separates ChecksumAlgorithm from enforcement Flags and reports ChecksumChunkSizeInBytes and ClusterSizeInBytes independently. Configuration fields are not a record of a completed payload scan. [5]

Relations

related

ReFS, Checksum, Data scrubbing, Btrfs NODATASUM, Copy-on-write (storage), Reflink

Citations

1. Microsoft Learn: ReFS integrity streams, inheritance and scrub coverage (accessed 2026-10-21)
2. Microsoft Learn: Get-FileIntegrity (Windows Server 2025 Storage module) (accessed 2026-10-21)
3. Microsoft Learn: Set-FileIntegrity, Enable and Enforce parameters (accessed 2026-10-21)
4. Microsoft Learn: format, ReFS /I default on redundant storage (accessed 2026-10-21)
5. Microsoft Learn: FSCTL_GET_INTEGRITY_INFORMATION_BUFFER fields (accessed 2026-10-21)

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