diff --git a/lib/moodlelib.php b/lib/moodlelib.php
index 411499f1ae5..9e57b24751a 100644
--- a/lib/moodlelib.php
+++ b/lib/moodlelib.php
@@ -2053,6 +2053,11 @@ function make_timestamp($year, $month=1, $day=1, $hour=0, $minute=0, $second=0,
 
     $time = $date->getTimestamp();
 
+    if ($time === false) {
+        throw new coding_exception('getTimestamp() returned false, please ensure you have passed correct values.'.
+            ' This can fail if year is more than 2038 and OS is 32 bit windows');
+    }
+
     // Moodle BC DST stuff.
     if (!$applydst) {
         $time += dst_offset_on($time, $timezone);
diff --git a/mod/data/tests/generator/lib.php b/mod/data/tests/generator/lib.php
index b02a97c38d9..4996bc8b8b5 100644
--- a/mod/data/tests/generator/lib.php
+++ b/mod/data/tests/generator/lib.php
@@ -293,12 +293,18 @@ class mod_data_generator extends testing_module_generator {
 
                 $temp = explode('-', $content, 3);
 
-                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_day'] = $temp[0];
-                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_month'] = $temp[1];
-                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_year'] = $temp[2];
+                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_day'] = (int)trim($temp[0]);
+                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_month'] = (int)trim($temp[1]);
+                $values['field_'.$fieldid.'_year'] = (int)trim($temp[2]);
+
+                // Year should be less than 2038, so it can be handled by 32 bit windows.
+                if ($values['field_'.$fieldid.'_year'] > 2038) {
+                    throw new coding_exception('DateTime::getTimestamp resturns false on 32 bit win for year beyond '.
+                        '2038. Please use year less than 2038.');
+                }
 
                 foreach ($values as $fieldname => $value) {
-                    $field->update_content($recordid, (string)(int)trim($value), $fieldname);
+                    $field->update_content($recordid, $value, $fieldname);
                 }
 
                 continue;
diff --git a/mod/data/tests/generator_test.php b/mod/data/tests/generator_test.php
index 113a1147dc1..be201cfba0d 100644
--- a/mod/data/tests/generator_test.php
+++ b/mod/data/tests/generator_test.php
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ class mod_data_generator_testcase extends advanced_testcase {
 
         $contents = array();
         $contents[] = array('one', 'two', 'three', 'four');
-        $contents[] = '01-01-2100';
+        $contents[] = '01-01-2037'; // It should be lower than 2038, to avoid failing on 32-bit windows.
         $contents[] = 'one';
         $contents[] = array('one', 'two', 'three', 'four');
         $contents[] = '12345';