A method and apparatus for detecting a hardware configuration in a digital terminal, and, in response, selecting a corresponding executable software path for initializing the hardware. All terminals in a digital communication network, such as a television network, are provided with a single common set-top firmware/software object that contains all software components required to run on all hardware platforms. The total amount of software needed at the terminals is reduced over prior art schemes since the common software object includes software that is common to the different hardware component types only once, instead of providing a different object for each hardware type which results in duplication of the common software. The software from the software object can execute on platforms with different hardware components and circuits. This provides freedom to the network operator to select terminals with reduced cost components, e.g., from different manufacturers. Additionally, the system avoids the need to provide different software to the terminals based on their hardware platform type.