Hi Lawrence,
Thanks for letting me know the result. 
- the config.properties file on my local EP VM does not containing any backslashes, means is identical to the file I found on affected EP. Nevertheless, the pcd tools are working well without modifying anything
- I cant remember to have modified this file at all on any EP (running on Windows Servers) ever. Im assuming the config.properties file with single backslashes conforms the delivery conditions by SAP
I did not fully get your point.
1. On local EP VM, there is no backslash, and it's identical to the one on affected EP. So there was no backslash on affected EP.
2. On affected EP, you replaced backslash with double backslash. It means there was originally backslash on affected EP.
Have I misunderstood anything?
BR, Tom