How to Switch on the Infrared Port in a Computer

You can establish a wireless infrared connection between enabled devices.

You can establish a wireless connection between your computer and an enabled device using infrared. Most newer laptops and notebooks have integrated infrared transceivers, and operating systems such as Microsoft Windows XP have support for IrDA (infrared data association) standards and protocols, allowing the computer to connect with infrared-enabled devices such as printers, modems, smartphones and PDAs (personal digital assistants). In order to work, both the computer and the device should have the infrared functionality activated.

Things You'll Need

• Infrared-enabled computer
• Infrared-enabled device
• Computer user manual
• Device user manual

Instructions

1. Check whether your computer supports infrared functionality. Refer to your manufacturer-provided documentation for information on infrared support. If your computer does not have infrared support, you can use a USB-based IrDA card.

2. Navigate to "Device Manager." On Windows systems, click "Start" and then select "Control Panel." In the window, click on "Printers and Other Hardware" and then "System" on the panel to the left. Locate the tab labeled "Hardware" and click "Device Manager."

3. Check whether the "Infrared Devices" tab appears under "Device Manager." If your computer has an infrared transceiver, but the tab labeled "Infrared Devices" does not appear, or does not show a list of devices, your infrared device is not installed.

4. Enable the infrared functionality from BIOS. Enter BIOS to verify if infrared functionality is activated, either from IrDA or FIR (Fast IrDA) mode. Accessing the BIOS setup screen is a different process for various computers, and depends on computer manufacturer and model. Refer to your manufacturer's documentation for instructions. If infrared is disabled in BIOS, undo the selection to enable the feature. Before making any changes to BIOS, write down the existing settings so you can roll back the updates if the new settings cause the computer to malfunction.

5. Align the infrared device to the computer's infrared port. The transceivers on both the computer and the device should be pointing directly at each other, no more than 1 meter apart. Once you have activated infrared from BIOS, Windows will pick up active signals from aligned infrared devices in the vicinity, and show an infrared icon in the taskbar (bottom right of the screen, near the clock). If the icon does not appear, you will have to troubleshoot the connection.

6. Identify and remedy infrared connection issues. Check whether the device is powered on and has the infrared feature turned on. Check the alignment and bring the device closer to the computer's infrared transceiver. If it is a laptop, plug in the power cord because the "Power Management" feature in some laptops turns off battery-intensive processes by default, such as infrared activity. Remove any other infrared devices from the area, such as TV remote controls, to prevent signal interference.

Tips & Warnings

• If the data transfer rate is very slow after the connection is established, you can change settings from the "Infrared" option under "Control Panel" and select a higher value under the option labeled "Limit Connection Speed."

• Do not attempt to change BIOS settings without referring to your manufacturer documentation. BIOS settings are sensitive, and if incorrect settings are applied, may cause the computer to stop working.

References

• Free PC Tech: Use infrared to connect PC and devices
• Microsoft Support: How to configure your computer for infrared communication
• Computer Hope: Infrared troubleshooting