Nintendo designed the Wii Mini to be a disposable, read-only console. Thanks to the reverse engineering prowess of FullMetal5 and the BlueBomb team, the "unhackable" console has become a fascinating challenge piece for modders.

A: Yes, but rarely. The BlueBomb exploit doesn't touch critical system files. However, installing the wrong cIOS (like a standard Wii cIOS) or forcing a Wii U vWii update will soft-brick your console. Since there is no BootMii, a brick is fatal.

A: The Wii Mini is very picky about USB power draw. Use a Y-cable (two USB plugs into the back of the Mini) for external hard drives. For flash drives, try the right USB port (Port 1) instead of the left.