A method, apparatus and system are disclosed for allowing prescribed components in the system to be started with minimal delay, wherein a multimedia system for a motor vehicle, which comprises a control unit and a plurality of prescribed components that can be selected and started by a user. The operating programs that are associated with at least one first component are provided with a greater proportion of the total available computational resources required for their execution. As a result, it becomes possible to use the at least one first component quite soon after the start-up phase of the system has begun.