So you didn't even get some kind of blue screen when it restarted? Sometimes you have to turn that setting on for it to stop at the blue screen. They added that in 7 or so I think. It does sound weird. Lucky for me, I am a tech guy, so pretty much do all my own repairs. Makes it nice not having to send it out of my possession somewhere I totally understand your hesitancy!
If I had built this one myself, I would have fixed it myself, but had no idea what I was doing when I opened it, so decided against it. I am not great at this kind of complexity now and learning from YouTube. No Bluescreen, just off.
That's crazy, I am sorry. Laptops were scary the first time I opened one up, but you get used to them. I just always worry I won't get stuff back in the right place. I've wound up with some extra screws a time or two as well.