USB2.0 Speed Very Slow

can anyone help me out on what the problem might be?

Yes. The problem is the three letter acronym called USB. USB 2.0 makes claims that the transfer rate is 480Mbps. It sounds good, but the speed is theoretical. Just because it claims 480Mbps doesn't mean that is what you will get. Theoretically, USB is 'supposed' to be faster than Firewire, but in real world 'application', FW blows USB out of the water.

Here's why:

Firewire is peer-to-peer, meaning it doesn't require a computer's resources to run.

USB has to have a computer and it's resources to operate. So if you are doing something with the computer as the transfer is happening, guess what? Your computer's resources are being used, therefore slowing down your transfer. Background applications require resources, which could theoretically take away from USB devices.

USB 2.0 is backward compatible with USB 1.0 and 1.1. Think of it this way, 802.11b and 802.11g. Some 802.11g routers are backward compatible with 802.11b components, but it reverts to B speed. So if you have three laptops and 2 desktops running at 802.11g and then a computer joins the network at 802.11b then everyone gets slowed down to "b" speed all because of 1 computer. So in essence, you have USB devices connected to USB 2.0 and 'one' of those are 1.0, guess what? It reverts to 1.0 or 1.1 speed, depending on the slower device is running at. Not to say that you are connecting a device that is USB 1.1 or lower, but the resources are being taken from background applications.

Hope this helps. Personally, I would have opted for a Firewire capable external housing or both, in case I needed the USB capability.

You are very welcome.

Just for fun, I did my own independent test of USB 2.0 vs. Firewire400. And here were my findings:

External HDD: AcomData 80GB 7200RPM USB & Firewire400 Ports.

File to read/write was a folder 9.73GB with Music/Movies/Documents/and a VPC WinXP Pro File.

USB 2.0 connected:
Read: 9:29.73
Write: 9:57.24
Total: 21:56.97

FireWire connected:
Read: 6:45.35
Write: 6:02.52
Total: 12:47.87

Evidently, in real world tests, Firewire 400 is MUCH faster than USB 2.0. I would like to have tested FW 800, but I don't own one, but would guess that the same tests would be almost twice as fast as FW400, leaving USB 2.0 in the dust.

Having owned several Macs and PCs over the years, I've learned to always buy multiple-interface enclosures with at least one each of USB 2.0 and FireWire. This greatly simplifies moving data between any two computers as fast as possible. I avoid getting FireWire-only enclosures, because the USB port comes in handy when I need to exchange data to/from a PC or with one of those older/cheaper Macs that doesn't have FireWire but does have USB.

I, too, prefer the multiple interface enclosures for the very same reasons.