My guess would be that you're using a USB-1 connected memory chip, which is by definition much slower than what's normal today, USB-2. As to what it's doing, I'd say "working" to quote the Star Trek ship's computer. What you can do, if it is a slow memory connection, is use a different connection (i.e. a new USB card) or set up some space on the hard drive and multi-boot the PC.

Hope that helps!
Krishna