Fantom S-88 slow and unresponsive with SM card

[gakujin]

I'm new to the forums, but wanted to check to see if someone's experienced this issue. I've been wanting to get my samples out of the Fantom for a while now. So I purchased a SmartMedia card. However, when I insert it into the Fantom, it becomes sluggish, almost as if its CPU is pegged. Even sounds come out delayed. Trying to format it (after a few retries) yields a Card Not Ready! However, the fact that it becomes sluggish when inserted suggests it's trying to read it. Has anyone had this issue before?