What is the problem you have been given to solve?

A new student received a college laptop. The laptop doesn't connect to the internet.

What are the main factors affecting your problem? You could consider factors such as what are the causes of the problem, why has the problem arisen and who is involved.

Where is the student? What operating system are they using? Has the laptop ever connected to the internet? The problem could be that the wifi is not turned on, there is a driver that needs to be updated, or a hardware issue. 

What are the most important factors and why?

Where the student is, operating system, and whether the problem is the laptop or the router. 

Suggest an approach and justify your suggestion.

Once I know the student's location and OS I can ask them to check if the wifi is turned on. I would then ask them to turn it off and on again and if that doesn't work, go into the system settings and disable and reenable the network. I would then run the system's troubleshooting to try and diagnose the issue. If the issue is  not the laptop, it may be the router. I would make sure the router is switched on and functional. Failing that, it may be a hardware issue and I would advise the student to have the laptop repaired and/or replaced.

Who will you need to help you with this?

I would need additional information from the student and may need to contact a Network Manager, the wifi company's customer service, or an IT repair specialist.

What information do you need to help you?

Location, OS, hardware specifications if the student knows them, how long the problem has been occurring, has the student attempted to connect to multiple networks, who is the service provider, etc. 

UPDATE: I PASSED!!