Fatal error while running Cleanwipe tool

Products

• Endpoint Protection

Issue/Introduction

The following error is observed while running the Cleanwipe to remove Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP).

The Cleanwipe log file reveals the following error:
2021-07-19T21:03:18.495Z FATAL Fatal error: Could not copy file <File path where Cleanwipe.exe is launched from>\CleanWipe.db to C:\Windows\Temp\CleanWipe_<random generated number>\CleanWipeState.db.
2021-07-19T21:03:20.823Z FATAL . Error code: 2: The system cannot find the file specified.

Cause

The most likely cause for this error is that Cleanwipe.exe was copied to another location without Cleanwipe.db or has insufficient permission to the "C:\Windows\Temp" folder.

Resolution

Ensure the following when running Cleanwipe:

1. Extract Cleanwipe before running.  Do not attempt to run cleanwipe from within a Winzip (or other compression tool) preview window.
2. After extracting Cleanwipe, there should be two files present: Cleanwipe.exe and Cleanwipe.db.  Both files need to be present in the same directory when Cleanwipe.exe is run.
3. Logged-in user has full permission to "C:\WINDOWS\TEMP" folder.