Tracks pause randomly every now and then-I have to go click play to resume

jpofsc, you have the exact same problem I have.
I'm running Windows Vista with iTunes 7.4 on a 1 month old computer and all of a sudden within the last week I've been getting those random pauses while listening to songs.
All of my music is on a brand new 350GB external HD and everytime a song pauses, I can hear an audible click coming from within my computer and then it'll start playing again.
It only happens once or twice every couple of hours, but still, very annoying.

I normally listen to songs via Party Shuffle, so today I'm going to try a test where I don't listen to music with party shuffle at all and I'll see if it still continues.
Maybe I'll be able to narrow down the problem this way...
However if it still happens.. =/

Still does it -_-

FIXED.
The issue has been fixed!
I learned today that the HD that my music is stored on has a spin down feature. Basically that means that it puts itself to sleep every 15 minutes of inactivity. I turned that off and I haven't had ANY pauses at all!

I too am having the same problem....I want to spec it (Itunes) for the song player for a church setting, however I cannot in good conscience [recommend it] at this point, since it does not appear to be stable enough. If it is rock solid, I would like someone to help me find the way 'cause, right now it hangs or just stops for no apparent reason-daily. It also "loses" my speaker settings--I am constantly going back to select my speakers. Help!

My library is on an ext drive accessed over Airport Extreme..Apple says they don't support this setup, but I can't be the only Joe doing this!
Thanks