diff --git a/lib/Cake/Utility/CakeTime.php b/lib/Cake/Utility/CakeTime.php
index 21100cc648e..dc546d6ce1d 100644
--- a/lib/Cake/Utility/CakeTime.php
+++ b/lib/Cake/Utility/CakeTime.php
@@ -316,6 +316,11 @@ public static function fromString($dateString, $timezone = null) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
+		$containsDummyDate = (is_string($dateString) && substr($dateString, 0, 10) === '0000-00-00');
+		if ($containsDummyDate) {
+			return false;
+		}
+
 		if (is_int($dateString) || is_numeric($dateString)) {
 			$date = intval($dateString);
 		} elseif (
@@ -328,12 +333,7 @@ public static function fromString($dateString, $timezone = null) {
 		} elseif ($dateString instanceof DateTime) {
 			$date = (int)$dateString->format('U');
 		} else {
-			// workaround for strtotime("0000-00-00 00:00:00") returning -62169955200 on a 64 bit system.
-			if (substr($dateString, 0, 10) === '0000-00-00') {
-				$date = false;
-			} else {
-				$date = strtotime($dateString);
-			}
+			$date = strtotime($dateString);
 		}
 
 		if ($date === -1 || empty($date)) {