pdm_load fails due to Invalid characters

Products

• CA Service Management - Service Desk Manager
• CA Service Desk Manager

Issue/Introduction

When trying to run pdm_load on a given file, the load errors out and the following is seen in the stdlogs:

Dbload Started - Parms: -i -v "D:\file1.txt"
Failed to logon to SQL Server (EXAMPLE-SQL-SERVER) Reason: Unknown Error
55555, Invalid characters encounter in XXXX" 

Environment

Release 14.1 and higher
CA Service Desk Manager

Cause

The given load file contains foreign characters and was not saved in UTF-8 format

Resolution

Edit and save the given load file in UTF-8, then try pdm_load again

Additional Information

Similar issue is seen with Knowledge functionality in KB article What is the meaning of the '55555, Invalid characters encounter' message within the CA Service Desk Manager (CA SDM) STDLOGs?