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kcargile

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Exchange Server Que is fulle - SMTP service not stopping

I cannot get SMTP to stop without restarting the server.  Email is stuck in the que and when I copy it to put it in the pickup folder it goes right back to the que.  What do I do.  I am so frustrated right now because I can't get the mail to work.  Please help!!
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Sembee
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kcargile

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Exchange 2000.  There are approximately 4000 messages stuck in the que that I cannot ennumerate cannot force cannot do anything to them.  Ennummerate gives me no messages.  I'm trying to get them to pickup to send.  No email is happening nothing, I can't send, receive, external or internal.  I'm at my wits end I have been working on this issue for two day.
4000? How many users?
Unless you have a large number of users they don't sound like legitimate messages to me. Presuming that you are relay secure I suspect that you have been the victim of a reverse NDR attack. This is where messages are sent to invalid users at your domain and the messages bounce. The address to bounce to is the real recipient of the spam message. Trying to get these messages to send is a waste of your time as they are probably wrong addresses and the remote systems either don't exist or are rejecting your connection.

Take a look at this article on the KB about cleaning the queues:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=324958
Ignore the SBS references, it is still Exchange.

Simon.
We get a lot of spam and reverse NDR to non existing or old users who are not longer in AD.  We have about 175 users.  I use GFI mail essentials for filtering but thse emails aren't getting to the filter yet so it's not that.  I will look at the article.
Thanks
Set up an SMTP Smart Host to relay outbound e-mail through your ISP's mail server.
Most of the items stuck in your queue are probably NDR's it's trying to send to spam's that come through to invalid addresses.
The smarthost option will offload the "retrying" to your ISP.
the same problem for me, i dont have any NDR attack also all valid mails. but stucks in the queue. so please put your solutions.