We're dividing 686478 by 4 
We're looking to find how many times 4 goes into 686478.

Step 1:
When dividing 6 by 4, we get 1 with a remainder of 2.
The next digit of our result is 1. 
Result so far: 1.0
Deduct 4 from 6 and we're left with 2.
Append the next digit (8) from the dividend to 2 and continue with: 28 / 4

On to step 2:
28 divided by 4 is 7 with a remainder of 0.
Put 7 as the next digit of the answer. 
Result so far: 17.0
If we subtract 28 from 28, we get 0.
Bring next digit (6) of the dividend behind the 0 and repeat the process: 6 / 4

Step 3:
When dividing 6 by 4, we get 1 with a remainder of 2.
Use 1 as the next digit of our solution. 
Result so far: 171.0
Subtracting 4 from 6 leaves us with 2.
Append the next digit (4) from the dividend to 2 and continue with: 24 / 4

Step 4:
24 divided by 4 is 6 with a remainder of 0.
The number 6 becomes the next digit in our result. 
Result so far: 1716.0
Subtracting 24 from 24 leaves us with 0.
Take the next digit (7) from the dividend and append it to 0, then repeat: 7 / 4

Advancing to step 5:
If we divide 7 by 4, we get 1 and a remainder of 3.
Put 1 as the next digit of the answer. 
Result so far: 17161.0
Subtracting 4 from 7 leaves us with 3.
Append the next digit (8) from the dividend to 3 and continue with: 38 / 4

On to step 6:
38 divided by 4 is 9 with a remainder of 2.
The number 9 becomes the next digit in our result. 
Result so far: 171619.0
Deduct 36 from 38 and we're left with 2.
Since there are no more digits in the dividend, we add a zero to the remainder making it 20, and continue the process.

Advancing to step 7:
4 goes into 20 5 times with a remainder of 0.
Record the quotient 5 as the next digit in the result. 
Result so far: 171619.5
Subtracting 20 from 20 leaves us with 0.
Since there are no more digits in the dividend, we add a zero to the remainder making it 0, and continue the process.

Let's proceed to step 8:
The number 4 fits into 0 0 times, leaving a remainder of 0.
The next digit of our result is 0. 
Result so far: 171619.5
Subtract 0 from 0 to get 0.
Since there are no more digits in the dividend, we add a zero to the remainder making it 0, and continue the process.

Moving on to step 9:
The number 4 fits into 0 0 times, leaving a remainder of 0.
The next digit of our result is 0. 
Result so far: 171619.5
If we subtract 0 from 0, we get 0.
Since there are no more digits in the dividend, we add a zero to the remainder making it 0, and continue the process.

In conclusion, the division gives 171619.5 with a balance of 0.0.