It honestly depend on the crack itself.
I'm no codder, but from experience, the crack are usually an exe to replace the original exe and sometime need other files alongside the new exe.
If your crack don't have an exe, it's most likely your AV identify the crack as a virus and deleted / quarantined it. Check your AV log & quarantine zone, and if you still have the crack archive (rar or zip), turn down the AV and extract, if there an exe, make it an exception and start the game with it.
The crack alongside all the files / folders taht may come with it are to be placed (usually) in the folder with the game starting exe.