The invention involves a procedure for adaptive configuration recognition after the run-up of a control device with or without configuration storage, which performs an automatic and operator-assisted, optimal configuration of the operating software of a motor vehicle.In a first variant, a central control device, after its run-up, receives at the earliest possible time, as a rule after activation of the ignition, identifying information from other components connected directly or indirectly to the central control device by data link. Upon receipt of the identifying information of a component, the central control device assumes that this component is present. Otherwise it assumes that it is not present. An additional configuration memory area is envisioned in a second variant in which the central control device, after the first receipt of the identifying information of a component, stores either the information, the associated software parts, or the software configuration resulting from the total of the recognized components. In this way, the appropriate software configuration can be quickly made available upon the new start of the vehicle with an unchanged hardware configuration. Furthermore, the procedure facilitates a guarantee that no error reports will be generated about components that are not present.