[UI Tests] Fix incorrect Settings Page launch method in UI test framework (#40367)

<!-- Enter a brief description/summary of your PR here. What does it
fix/what does it change/how was it tested (even manually, if necessary)?
-->
## Summary of the Pull Request
### Root Cause
The UI test framework previously attempted to launch
PowerToys.Settings.exe directly.
However, this bypasses the PowerToys Runner, which is required for
proper interaction
and communication between runner.

### Fix
1. This change updates the launch mechanism to start PowerToys through
the Runner
with the appropriate argument ("--open-settings").
2. Prevents the Debug dialog from appearing in test runs

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## PR Checklist

- [ ] **Closes:** #xxx
- [ ] **Communication:** I've discussed this with core contributors
already. If the work hasn't been agreed, this work might be rejected
- [ ] **Tests:** Added/updated and all pass
- [ ] **Localization:** All end-user-facing strings can be localized
- [ ] **Dev docs:** Added/updated
- [ ] **New binaries:** Added on the required places
- [ ] [JSON for
signing](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/ESRPSigning_core.json)
for new binaries
- [ ] [WXS for
installer](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/installer/PowerToysSetup/Product.wxs)
for new binaries and localization folder
- [ ] [YML for CI
pipeline](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/ci/templates/build-powertoys-steps.yml)
for new test projects
- [ ] [YML for signed
pipeline](https://github.com/microsoft/PowerToys/blob/main/.pipelines/release.yml)
- [ ] **Documentation updated:** If checked, please file a pull request
on [our docs
repo](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/windows-uwp/tree/docs/hub/powertoys)
and link it here: #xxx

<!-- Provide a more detailed description of the PR, other things fixed,
or any additional comments/features here -->
## Detailed Description of the Pull Request / Additional comments

<!-- Describe how you validated the behavior. Add automated tests
wherever possible, but list manual validation steps taken as well -->
## Validation Steps Performed

src/common/UITestAutomation/SessionHelper.cs

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ using System.Reflection;
 using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
 using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium;
 using OpenQA.Selenium.Appium.Windows;
+using static Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest.WindowHelper;
 
 namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
 {
@@ -41,18 +42,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
             this.locationPath = Path.GetDirectoryName(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly().Location);
 
             CheckWinAppDriverAndRoot();
-
-            var runnerProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
-            {
-                FileName = locationPath + this.runnerPath,
-                Verb = "runas",
-            };
-
-            if (scope == PowerToysModule.PowerToysSettings)
-            {
-                this.ExitExe(runnerProcessInfo.FileName);
-                this.runner = Process.Start(runnerProcessInfo);
-            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -76,6 +65,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
         public SessionHelper Init()
         {
             this.ExitExe(this.locationPath + this.sessionPath);
+
             this.StartExe(this.locationPath + this.sessionPath);
 
             Assert.IsNotNull(this.Driver, $"Failed to initialize the test environment. Driver is null.");
@@ -89,19 +79,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
         public void Cleanup()
         {
             ExitScopeExe();
-            try
-            {
-                if (this.scope == PowerToysModule.PowerToysSettings)
-                {
-                    runner?.Kill();
-                    runner?.WaitForExit(); // Optional: Wait for the process to exit
-                }
-            }
-            catch (Exception ex)
-            {
-                // Handle exceptions if needed
-                Debug.WriteLine($"Exception during Cleanup: {ex.Message}");
-            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>
@@ -135,10 +112,65 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
         public void StartExe(string appPath)
         {
             var opts = new AppiumOptions();
+
+            // if we want to start settings, we need to use the runner exe to open settings
+            if (scope == PowerToysModule.PowerToysSettings)
+            {
+                TryLaunchPowerToysSettings(opts);
+            }
+            else
+            {
                 opts.AddAdditionalCapability("app", appPath);
+            }
+
             this.Driver = NewWindowsDriver(opts);
         }
 
+        private void TryLaunchPowerToysSettings(AppiumOptions opts)
+        {
+            CheckWinAppDriverAndRoot();
+
+            var runnerProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
+            {
+                FileName = locationPath + this.runnerPath,
+                Verb = "runas",
+                Arguments = "--open-settings",
+            };
+
+            this.ExitExe(runnerProcessInfo.FileName);
+            this.runner = Process.Start(runnerProcessInfo);
+            Thread.Sleep(5000);
+
+            if (root != null)
+            {
+                const int maxRetries = 3;
+                const int delayMs = 5000;
+                var windowName = "PowerToys Settings";
+
+                for (int attempt = 1; attempt <= maxRetries; attempt++)
+                {
+                    var settingsWindow = ApiHelper.FindDesktopWindowHandler(
+                        new[] { windowName, AdministratorPrefix + windowName });
+
+                    if (settingsWindow.Count > 0)
+                    {
+                        var hexHwnd = settingsWindow[0].HWnd.ToString("x");
+                        opts.AddAdditionalCapability("appTopLevelWindow", hexHwnd);
+                        return;
+                    }
+
+                    if (attempt < maxRetries)
+                    {
+                        Thread.Sleep(delayMs);
+                    }
+                    else
+                    {
+                        throw new TimeoutException("Failed to find PowerToys Settings window after multiple attempts.");
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
         /// <summary>
         /// Starts a new exe and takes control of it.
         /// </summary>
@@ -176,6 +208,19 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
         public void ExitScopeExe()
         {
             ExitExe(sessionPath);
+            try
+            {
+                if (this.scope == PowerToysModule.PowerToysSettings)
+                {
+                    runner?.Kill();
+                    runner?.WaitForExit(); // Optional: Wait for the process to exit
+                }
+            }
+            catch (Exception ex)
+            {
+                // Handle exceptions if needed
+                Debug.WriteLine($"Exception during Cleanup: {ex.Message}");
+            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>

src/common/UITestAutomation/UITestBase.cs

@@ -68,16 +68,6 @@ namespace Microsoft.PowerToys.UITest
 
             this.sessionHelper = new SessionHelper(scope).Init();
             this.Session = new Session(this.sessionHelper.GetRoot(), this.sessionHelper.GetDriver(), scope, size);
-
-            if (this.scope == PowerToysModule.PowerToysSettings)
-            {
-                // close Debug warning dialog if any
-                // Such debug warning dialog seems only appear in PowerToys Settings
-                if (this.FindAll("DEBUG").Count > 0)
-                {
-                    this.Find("DEBUG").Find<Button>("Close").Click();
-                }
-            }
         }
 
         /// <summary>