It depends on what you're trying to get the phone to do as well. Install the basic driver will usually only allow you to connect to the phone as a mass storage device or in some cases connect to the internet through the phone. Sometimes you can't do anything with the phone.
If you want more functionality than this, you will likely need to install the software suite that either came with the phone or it can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. For example, the software suite for Samsung phones is called Samsung Kies. Software like this is sometimes required to get complete functionality out of the phone when connected to a computer, and sometimes even basic functions like browsing the contents or connecting to the internet. It really varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and even phone to phone.
The manual install worked but Windows doesn't like the driver.
What do you mean it doesn't like it? Can you be more specific?
Are you sure the driver you gave it was compatible with Windows 7? XP, Vista, and 7 drivers are rarely interchangeable.
