The contents of files are typically stored on disk in a consecutive manner. However, $$\sim $$∼4% of files are fragmented – the contents is not stored on-disk in one continuous part. The fragments that together constitute the file may even be stored in non-consecutive order on-disk. This turns out to be a common occurrence: the WildFrag dataset (gathered by Van der Meer et al.) showed that almost half of fragmented files ($$\sim $$∼46%) are fragmented out of order. This is a type of fragmentation that, while not entirely overlooked, has received scant attention in the file carving literature.

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