Hi [NAME] First and foremost, Dell have always allowed customers to make upgrades and replacements to their systems without compromising the warranty. This includes the HDD/SDD. If a Dell rep told you otherwise then they were wrong. If, as a direct result of the user doing an upgrade/replacement, the user causes damage to the system then the warranty will be voided.  Saying this, if you are still covered by warranty then you shouldn't have to replace faulty parts yourself. Sometimes it's the best option though. Dell 'techs' that come to your house are contracted from local repair stores. Many of them have little to no experience on Alienware systems and I wouldn't trust one of them with my wheelbarrow. It would be financially impossible for Dell to set up their own service centers in every town/city so there isn't much they can do about it unfortunately. The warranty terms and conditions should have been available to you when you extended your warranty. The very basic warranty is usually a 'return to Dell' deal rather than 'in home'. Just double check what you paid for to make sure they didn't tell you the wrong thing.  Dell's over-the-phone service has always been hit and miss. I've always had a positive experience but there are many like you who have it the other way. Falling asleep is inexcusable.  Dell will also replace a system if they haven't been able to fix the same issue 3 times within a certain time frame. You could try escalating your current issue if this sounds like you.  I haven't had to contact support for many years but back in the day I was able to get Dell to send me the parts I needed so I could do the repairs myself. I'm not sure if this is something they usually do but I was more than comfortable working inside of laptops and I didn't want someone else doing it and making things worse. 
I'm hoping to hear how others have dealt with Dell when it came to Alienware gaming laptop issues. I bought the Alienware m15 R1 2 years/ 10 months ago for a lot of money and even extended warranty (thank goodness I did). Since then, I've had the laptop serviced 8 times and have had so many other problems. Now Dell is refusing to acknowledge that the laptop has issues and wants to charge me extra for their design flaws. Also, my warranty has been degraded now and I've had to send my laptop in and they've had it nearly 2 weeks. Anyone else have these issues? This whole experience just makes me never want to buy another Dell product ever again. I am so disappointed.
m15 R1, problems