Hi, I think I have given up trying to figure this out by myself. If someone could walk me through the process that would be great.

I am running windows server 2003 and am trying to get exchange 2003 to work. At the moment, I am using a dyndns domain name which could possibly be adding to my troubles.

So, without really knowing any knowledge of any of this software beforehand, what i managed to do was to setup an active directory and install exchange. My first goal was to be able to use the virtual smtp server to send messages and that is where i got stuck. I was able to send messages from a computer to the server but all of the messages get stuck in the queue and never get sent.

I have forwarded port 25 and have had it unblocked from my ISP so that shouldn't be the problem.
Through all of the research I have done, people keep mentioning MX records. I think I understand what they are but maybe not.

So, if someone could tell me exactly what needs to be done on a fresh windows server 2003 install that would be awesome!

MX record is a DNS record of a domain name which gives idea how emails should be routed using SMTP. For example, if you wish to use Exchange server as your domain's email services then you will have to set IP address of this server in MX record DNS record.

you should install ASP.NET and Start the service. you should also install support tools.

What you should do is call in a professional, and pay the man for a one-off service. Nobody will really walk you through everything without seeing your setup, since blind work is much harder and too time consuming to take on, especially on a voluntary basis.

Call a pro, ask him to explain everything he does, and take notes. You will end up with a working setup and the knowledge of where you went wrong, so next time you will not need help