Final answer:
The claim that swapping is not an I/O operation and does not enhance performance is false. Swapping involves I/O operations as it moves data to and from the hard drive, and while it helps keep processes running when RAM is full, it generally slows down system performance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that swapping is not an I/O operation and therefore does not enhance performance is false. Swapping, which is a process where a page of memory is copied to the preconfigured space on the hard drive, known as swap space, to free up that page of memory, is indeed an I/O operation. When a system runs out of RAM, swapping allows the system to use disk space as an extension of RAM, which is much slower than RAM, but still enables the execution of processes that require more memory than what is available.
While swapping may alleviate memory scarcity issues and prevent system crashes, it is usually a sign that a system is under-resourced for the tasks it is performing. It does not inherently enhance performance; instead, it can lead to a slower system because accessing data on a hard drive is significantly slower than accessing data in RAM.