diff --git a/get_general_settings.py b/get_general_settings.py
index 2d494e687..bc8cd6e50 100644
--- a/get_general_settings.py
+++ b/get_general_settings.py
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def path_replace(path):
             elif path.startswith('/'):
                 path = path.replace('\\', '/')
             break
-    return path.encode('string_escape')
+    return path.encode('utf8')
 
 def path_replace_reverse(path):
     print path
@@ -51,4 +51,4 @@ def path_replace_reverse(path):
                 path = path.replace('\\', '/')
             break
     print path
-    return path.encode('string_escape')
+    return path.encode('utf8')