Here are the steps that I took:
*BIOS firmware updated to version 1B and a factory reset
*Reformatted SSD to GPT and re-installed Windows 10
*Restarted and plugged in one GPU into the PCI-Express slot via USB riser
At this point, I went to Device Manager > Display adapters and saw that there was a ‘Generic Microsoft Display Adapter’. I let Windows finish updating.
Almost an hour later, I restarted Windows. I restarted and went into the BIOS and changed the ‘4G encoding’ to ‘Yes’ and PEG0 and PEG1 from ‘Auto’ to ‘Gen1’. ‘UEFI’ was already set to ‘Yes’
After another restart, I re-visited Device Manager > Display adapters and ‘Generic Microsoft Display Adapter’ was replaced with ‘Intel Series 530 Graphics Adapter’. It did not even pick up anything from the USB riser that I connected.
Even after I followed the instructions to the letter, I have concluded that my USB risers may be defective.
I will be ordering six of the VER006S risers and see if that helps.