No hard disc code

Hi everyone,

My husband has an Alienware model M17 R3, he bought it around 4-5 years ago, and recently it started glitching mid game. I helped him clean it up a bit(no serious stuff, just checked for updates as Dell website suggests, the Dell support app(If that’s the name) ran a little test and updated what needed to be updated, NVIDIA APP for more updates etc). It was fine for a little while, but then it started doing it again, his screen freezes mid game and obviously messes up his results. He is not an avid gamer, but it is his way of relaxing after work, and it’s kinda stressing him out that it’s happening.

Yesterday it showed a code “No hard disc installed”, I scanned the barcode and the website basically said it will need to be replaced.

Before we go down that route, I was curious to ask some more experienced people here if they had that same issue and if it really had to be a replacement of the hard disk or are there other options? Obviously with this model, it’s not the cheapest to just get a new one, plus it takes like 2 weeks to ship it out to Dell and get it back.

If there are other options, we are in Northern suburbs of Chicago area and I would really appreciate some recommendations for knowledgeable computer repair shops. I know there’s always the Best Buy Geek Squad but for the life of me, I can’t make myself trust the franchise on this one, at least not without a recommendation.

Thanks in advance!